


Coffee Tastes Better When I Drink It With You

by fletchphoenix



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Slow Burn, i wanted to make the one shot a series since i loved it so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 50,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26111401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fletchphoenix/pseuds/fletchphoenix
Summary: Varian, a university student with a lot of emotional baggage, gets caught in a blizzard returning home from his classes. Seeking shelter, he runs into the closest coffee shop he can find. Little does he know, the blonde boy with the stupid undercut and oversized glasses he meets in there is going to change his life for good.
Relationships: Hugo/Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms)
Comments: 51
Kudos: 135





	1. Stranger In The Coffee Shop

**Author's Note:**

> Hi Guys!  
> So I originally wrote this as a one-shot coffee shop au, but I really really want to continue this!

This was gonna be a long week.

Fresh flakes of snow fell from the sky as Varian trudged down the street, only just out of his classes for the day. A frown covered his features as he finally took notice of the weather he was walking in. His bag weighted heavier on his back the more steps he took, containing various notebooks, textbooks and equipment he needed to use. For now, the snow only seemed to be a minor inconvenience. “I can make it back..” he muttered in reassurance.

Oh, how wrong he was.

Time passed and the snow got progressively more and more heavy. The wind started to howl and pick up in speed, howling and blowing ice cold air. He had to find shelter. Fast. That was when a quaint coffee shop caught his eye. With no other choice, the raven haired boy sprinted towards the store, threw the door open and slid inside.

The first thing he noticed about the shop was just how warm it was. It instantly erased the numb feeling in his limbs, replacing it with a relaxing heat. The scent of coffee engulfed his senses too - in fact it was all he could smell (not that it was a problem, it was mouthwateringly good. The smell alone made him want more). Tables were filled left and right, however he waded through the mass of people and sat down at the only available space - a booth by a window. Varian silently gazed out of the window.

He hated the snow.

it was snowing on THAT night. The night he put his dad in a coma. He didn’t even mean to - but he just wanted to make his dad proud of him for doing something good, but it didn’t work. He tried to get help for them from Eugene’s girlfriend. He begged. Hell, he even ran through a snowstorm to find them. He couldn’t even feel his hands or feet by the time he got there. But no one helped. That night made him do some awful things..how could they ever forgive him? Did they even forgive him? What if they hated him? What if- What if- What if-

“Hey, can I sit here?”

Varian’s thoughts were halted in an instant as he looked at the source of the voice. The man was tall - most likely around his age - and looked down at him with his mouth tilted in a smile, an eyebrow raised. Blonde locks were styled into an undercut with the top part tied back into a ponytail, and emerald eyes that studied him were framed by a pair of obnoxiously big glasses.

“I’m sorry, what?” Varian asked, a look of confusion on his face.

“Can I sit here? The shop’s full and I noticed only you were sitting here so...” the blonde’s words died out, smiling as Varian gave him a nod of confirmation. “Great.” he said with a wide smile, sitting down in the booth opposite him. “I noticed we go to the same university. I’m Hugo Atkinson.”

“Varian. Varian Ruddiger.” He replied with a small nod, glancing out of the window again. Snow still fell outside, showing no signs of relenting or stopping at all. A sigh left his lips as he turned his head back to look at his newfound companion, only to find him staring. “Are you okay?”

“Chemistry in senior year. You sit at the back. Professor Xavier. Am I right?” Hugo smirked, not waiting for a reply. “I knew I recognised you! Hey, let me get you a drink. What do you want?”

“Uh...vanilla latte. One sugar, please.”

“On it, short stuff!” The blonde replied, hastily moving out of his seat and hurrying to the counter before Varian could retaliate. Did he just..call him short? Really? Varian groaned and rested his head on the table. NOW he remembered who he was. The memories flooded back to him of the relentless teasing he’d endured throughout the last year along with the annoying comments. Why did he have to reunite with him of all people? Did the universe just hate him that much?

“He’s certainly changed...” Varian mumbled under his breath. And he had. He wasn’t at ALL unattractive, his face perfectly fit with defined cheekbones, a lanky structure and vibrant, green eyes he could just get lost in...NO! None of that! He knew what Hugo was like. How he dated around and broke hearts of anyone relentlessly in senior year. Nope. Varian was not having any of that, thank you very much.

A few moments later, Hugo came back with two drinks in hand before settling down opposite Varian again with a smile on his face.

“Hope you didn’t miss me too much, hairstripe.” he chuckled, laughing when Varian lunged to punch his arm. “Ow! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’ll stop.” Hugo settled down, taking a sip of his coffee. “So...what brings you here?”

“Just the snow. It’s way too strong to walk in so I decided not to push my luck.” He replied, taking a sip of his latte. It was perfect, the warmth spreading throughout his body. Coffee was simply the best in weather like this - the taste of vanilla reminding him of how Rapunzel makes them.

“Me too.” Hugo muttered and raised the cup to his lips again, his free hand moving and tucking a section of his fringe behind his ear. “My mom should be coming to pick me up soon, though.” He added quietly, a dark look appearing on his face before disappearing just as quickly as it came. “Anyway, that isn’t important. How’s everything been?”

“The usual. Boring...only thing that’s keeping me busy is the chem work we’re getting.” He groaned and rubbed at his eyes, yawning before sipping his coffee again. God, this coffee tasted heavenly.

“Me too. My engineering work is stressful as hell.” Hugo complained and slumped back in his seat.

Varian paused and looked Hugo in the eyes. “Let me look. I’ll help you out and you can help me with my chemistry, Deal?”

Hugo paused for a moment, considering his offer before standing and shuffling to sit in the booth right beside Varian. Reaching into a previously unseen bag, he dropped 2 pens, 2 pencils, and a notebook onto the spruce table. “Okay Ruddiger, lets do this.”

For what seemed like hours, him and Hugo talked and talked and talked. It felt reassuring, Varian thought, having someone that understood what he was talking about for the most part and to help him. Their topics varied from chemistry to biology to engineering and so much more. At one point, they even spoke about pets! As it turned out, Hugo had a pet mouse called Cheese (”Creative name.” Varian quipped, earning a roll of the eyes and a gentle punch on the arm from the other) and Varian confided about his pet cat, Ruddiger (to which Hugo mocked his previous comment). It felt natural. Nice.

Of course all good things had to come to an end.

A buzz from Hugo’s phone interrupted their VERY riveting conversation about the logistics of an automaton. “Oh shit, my mom is here.” Hugo said with a frown, his eyes meeting Varian’s. Varian tried, but to no avail, to hide his disappointment.

“Oh. Well, this was fun-” He started to say.

“Hold on.” Hugo stopped him, reaching out to grab a napkin and a pen, Silently, he wrote on it before passing Varian the napkin with a smile. “See you around, hairstripe.” He added before he was gone, navigating through the crowd of people to get towards the door.

Varian took a second to glance down at the napkin. His face flushed as he saw the note contained Hugo’s number along with ‘Call me x’. He bit his lip gently and glanced in the direction Hugo left in, taking out his phone and inputting the number quietly before picking up his bag and heading to the door. Outside the snow had stopped, leaving a small blanket that. crackled with every step he took.

When he got home, Varian lay on his bed and stared at his phone or, more specifically, Hugo’s contact. His hands shook with anticipation and anxiety. Oh god, what should he say? What was a normal thing to say to a cute boy from high school you just reunited with? He let out a frustrated cry and flopped back onto his bed, throwing his phone elsewhere on the covers. Why was he so bad at this?

After at least an hour of stressing, pacing and advice from Rapunzel and Eugene, he officially gave up. He slowly picked up his phone and typed out the message.

**Varian : Hi, it’s me from the coffee shop.**

  
“Okay Varian...and...” He closed his eyes, his finger hovering over the send button, before pressing it and shutting the phone off. He lay back again and covered his eyes. “HI?! REALLY? THAT’S THE BEST YOU COULD DO?” He scolded himself and covered his eyes. Hugo was gonna think he’s an idiot! A massive idiot! A chime sounded out through the room and, as fast as he could, Varian lunged and picked up his phone to read Hugo’s reply.

**Hugo : Heya hairstripe =)**

**Hugo : Took you long enough to text me, aha**

  
Varian’s face changed into a smile as him and Hugo continued to talk all throughout the night. Eventually, at 3am, he decided to call it a night and get some rest before his class tomorrow.

**Varian : I’m going to sleep - goodnight Hugo**

**Hugo : Before you dooo....**   
**Hugo : How about another coffee meet? You free Thursday at 1?**

  
Varian let out a loud gasp before sitting up and smiling widely. Hugo wanted to meet up again. Oh my god Hugo wanted to see him again! Giddy with excitement, he picked up his phone and immediately text him back.

**Varian : Yep, I am**

  
**Hugo : It’s a date <3 see you then Ruddiger. Sweet dreams.**

  
Varian set his phone aside on his bedroom table, a lovesick smile on his face as he lay back and stared at the ceiling. A date. A date with Hugo. He couldn’t help the flush on his cheeks or the butterflies in his stomach as he started to drift off to sleep with Ruddiger jumping and laying beside him in bed. Now he had to wait till Thursday.

This was gonna be a long week.


	2. Families Are Overrated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian just wants Thursday to hurry up, but of course the universe wants to prolong his suffering.  
> Wednesday - tutoring and family dinners.   
> Nothing can go wrong! Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if this needs a TW but  
> TW - Panic Attacks, Strong Language

Although it was only Wednesday, Thursday felt as though it was decades away. Up until now, the days had dragged on and on and on. In all honesty, Varian thought the universe itself was extending the length of each day just to taunt him. They all just seemed to merge together no matter what he did to take up his time, it never seemed to speed up. “Why can’t Thursday just hurry up…?” The raven haired boy thought as he picked up his backpack and headed out of the chemistry labs, tucking a strand of hair that had fallen into his face behind his ear and descending the stairs towards the town library.

Corona was a rather large town, with most streets littered with stores, houses and parks. Oddly, it was almost always unbelievably sunny, the aforementioned rays of the blinding light burning his eyes as he remained on course to the building, causing him to be suddenly very interested in the floor. The town was rather peaceful and beautiful too in terms of crime and layout - though, he did live in the less beautiful, more run-down faction of the city called Old Corona, and ANY town would be better than Old Corona when it comes to crime rates or general beauty. 

After around 10 minutes of walking, he found himself outside of the doors he knew so well - the doors to the Coronan Library. His mom used to joke, always calling it the “Eternal Library” because of its tremendous size. Before her and his dad split up. He missed her a lot. He let out a sigh at the unwanted memory and stepped forward. Instantly after he’d pushed open the heavy, oak doors, a tiny boy ran and wrapped his arms around his waist with a wide smile on his face. Varian let out a chuckle and leant down to ruffle his hair, prying the younger boy off him and heading to a 3 seating spruce table in the middle of the room. Various books, pens and stationary were littered about the surface with the wood underneath barely even visible at most points. Yong eagerly ran to take his seat, jittering in excitement. He could swear that kid was just a bundle of energy - somehow always able to run around or be doing something. 

“Took you long enough. I was starting to think you bailed.” A voice rang out as he took his place at the table. He didn’t even have to look at her to know who it was, a distinct hair clip with a star on it made it very clear to him. Nuru looked at him, a smirk on her face and her eyebrow raised with her NASA shirt being covered by a violet bomber jacket. Her jeans were cuffed and little scribbles that were drawn in pen were dotted here and there. Sneakers that were the same colour as her jacket only just fell short of her ankle, black socks with stars peeking out of them only just visible from the top. He dramatically sighed and feigned annoyance, a mock expression of the emotion on his face while he flopped back into his chair.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry Nuru. I got sidetracked - that’s all. So, how are you today, Yong?” He questioned, finally taking time to look over at the boy sitting beside him. Covering him was a crimson hoodie - judging by the way it dwarfed him in size, it was his older brother’s that was given to him as a hand me down or some sort of gift. It was kind of cute - a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. On his feet were some worn, gold and red converse that were laced ridiculously tight, also a hand-me-down. A childish smile was on his face as he looked up at Varian.

“I’m fine! We learnt about astronomy today and calculating percentage composition! We got assigned some questions though and I didn’t understand the equation…” He mumbled the last part and leant against the table, before pulling 2 notebooks out of his bag. “Is it okay if you two can help me with my homework though? Just so I can understand it better and stuff. You explain it really well.” 

“Sure we can, buddy.” Varian replied and shuffled closer to him. “So the equation for percentage mass is the mass of the desired elements divided by the gram formula mass, and then multiply it by 100%, but you know that, right?” He paused, waiting for a nod of confirmation which he promptly got before continuing with his explanation. “So the question is to  calculate the percentage composition of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Right? So, the first step is to write out the formula,” he paused once again to allow Yong to follow his instructions, the younger boy giving a thumbs up when he was done. “Great. So then you need to work out the gram formula mass which is…?” 

Yong stared at the paper quietly, leaning forward and holding his pen before chewing the lid. “So it’s 14 add 4 add 14 add 48, so that’s gonna be...80?” he questioned, looking over at Varian and his face lighting up when he gave a nod of approval. 

“So then,” Varian added, “You need to do 14 divided by 2 multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of Nitrogen, then 4 divided by 80 and multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of hydrogen and finally 48 divided by 80 and multiplied by 100 to get the percentage of oxygen!” Varian concluded, smiling as Yong handed over his finished work. The older boy glanced over it, double checking before handing the worksheet back with a satisfied hum. “All correct! Well done, bud.”

At that news, Yong gave a little cheer, moving over to Nuru and showing off his work, Varian sitting back as he watched the heartwarming scene from afar. He seemed so proud of himself, and he had every right to be. Still, after his little adrenaline rush, Nuru sat him down and listened attentively as Yong talked extensively about his astronomy homework. Satisfied that his job was done, Varian gazed out of the window. Hm. Still abnormally sunny - as per usual.

A slight breeze made its way through the library as the door creaked open, prompting Varian to divert his attention towards it. He regretted it immediately. Standing in the doorway was none other than Hugo. He was wearing a green hoodie with jeans...god, he looked so good in green. Heat started to build in his face as he moved to look away from the older boy, his hands fidgeting in his lap and the tips of his ears turning red the longer he looked at him. He silently prayed Nuru and Yong hadn’t noticed...but the universe had other plans in its mission to screw him over.

“Varian, are you okay? Your face is red. Are you too warm? Do you want me to ask the librarian to turn the fan on?” inquired Yong, already standing and beginning to walk away. Varian groaned and sunk back further into his chair, covering his still red face with his hands. Oh my god, why did he have to be here? He grimaced as the sound of Nuru’s laughter gradually got louder. “What.” he questioned, not daring to look up and betray just how flustered he was. This, however, only caused her to laugh even harder. 

“Nothing! I just can’t believe Varian Ruddiger, my best friend, is simping for Hugo Atkinson aka one of the biggest playboys in human existence! It’s simply unbelievable!” Nuru cackled, Varian swiftly lunging and covering her mouth with his hand. 

“Shut the fuck up, Nuru! If he even hears you!-” he flushed red as his eyes met Hugo’s from across the room. A smirk tugged at the corners of the blonde’s lips and he shot the younger boy a wink, bursting out into uncontrollable laughter as the other’s face went even redder (as if that was even possible) and he frantically tried to compose himself. Varian hurriedly stood up, shoving books into his bag and pushing the blue streak of hair out of his line of sight.

“Oh would you look at the time! Eugene will be here to pick me up any minute now!” he declared rather loudly. The librarian looked up from her position behind the counter and shushed him, her eyes rolling as he repeatedly apologised. Cooling air hit his face as he dashed out of the library, passing Hugo at a speed he himself didn’t know he could reach. It was the relief he desperately needed - the flush of his face calming down and slowly retreating. Why was he so awkward? A blaring horn bought him back to reality, courtesy of his unofficial sister’s boyfriend. Involuntarily, he winced and stumbled back, bringing his hands up to cover his ears.

“Hey Var! C’mon!” Eugene called out, a wide smile on his face as he waved him over. With a groan, Varian headed over and opened the door. He slumped into the passenger’s seat, fingers moving to roll down the window and allow the breeze to hit his face as Eugene drove. Varian silently observed the houses and stores as they sped past, steadily being swapped out with parks and fields leading up to his sister’s house.

It always went like this ever since his mom left. On Wednesdays, Eugene would pick him up from his tutoring job and he’d go over to the couple’s house for dinner, before Eugene would drive him back home to Old Corona. Routine. A snug routine that no one disagreed with. They sat in a pleasant silence before the brunette decided to speak up.

“So uh..how was your day, kiddo?” he implored, taking a second to glance over at the smaller boy as he stared out of the car window, charcoal locks blowing wildly in the wind, with the blue streaks still clearly defined. The response was a nod and faint hum as the boy kept his focus on the landscape beside them. The brunette bit his lip and relented on the questions. Clearly he wasn’t fine then.

The ivory car pulled in outside of the small, ivy-walled cottage, both boys exiting the car after it had been parked. “There we go, Maximus. Good job.” Eugene mumbled under his breath, giving the hood a gentle tap before striding towards the wooden door and opening it. “Blondie! We’re here!” he exclaimed as the blonde-haired woman bounded out into the hallway, sprinting outside to pull the younger boy into a rib-crushing hug as her fiance watched on in amusement. 

“Varian! Hey!” she beamed as she took his wrist in a vice-like grip and pulled him along into the cottage. “It’s so good to see you! Cass, Lance and the girls are in the living room if you want to go see them!” Huh. Cass? That was new. Last thing he heard was that she was travelling the world after finishing her course at university. He put on the widest smile he could and slid open the sitting room’s door.

Cassandra, Lance, Keira and Catalina all looked up from where they were sitting and waved. Varian made his way over to Cass, settling down beside her and allowing her to pull him into a side hug. “Hey co lady-in-waiting.” she chuckled and ruffled his hair. “How are you? How long has it been- what, 4 years?” 

“Yep. 4 years.” Lance chimed in from his perch on the matching lilac sofa, a wide grin on his face as Cass tossed a pillow at him. Much to her dismay, he caught it and threw it right back at them. It hit Cass square in the face, her letting out a gasp of surprise and falling back against the plush cushions dotted all over the couch. The black haired boy let out a snort of laughter, covering his mouth and trying to suppress the small giggles that kept leaving his mouth. “I’m-oh fuck hold on,” he barely managed to pass the words through his lips, still in a fit of laughter. He took a deep breath. In. Hold. Out. In. Hold. Out. “That’s better. I’m fine. Studying chemistry at Corona University now.” he replied with a grin and leant against her, letting her warmth engulf him once again. 

“No fuckin’ way. You’re a uni kid now?” she sat bolt upright, turning to look at him with wide eyes before resuming her original position. “Shit..it's been way too long since I’ve been here.” she let out a breathy laugh and looked down.    
  


“DINNER’S READY!” Rapunzel’s voice cried out from the kitchen, summoning everyone to sit down at the table. The meal of choice was a simple spaghetti, served on a purple porcelain plate. After settling everyone down, Rapunzel distributed the food. It was all going well, in all honesty. Everyone was talking about various topics: Eugene and Lance’s promotions, Kiera and Catalina joining high school soon, where Cass was travelling..that was until that all important question was asked - the one Varian dreaded the most.

“So Varian,” Catalina asked innocently, looking up at him. “Have you got a girlfriend yet?”

Varian froze, spoon raised to his mouth before dropping it back onto the plate. “I-I’m sorry, what?” he stuttered out, an awkward, forced smile taking over his face. Oh god, why were they asking this?

“Yeah V, do you have a girlfriend?” Kiera repeated her sister’s question, her interest seemingly peaked by his response.

Oh.  _ Oh.  _ Of course this question would come up eventually. Fuck. He’d never had a girlfriend in his life! The only girl who he’d ever had a crush on was Cassandra! What did he even like about girls? He tried to think back on all of his previous crushes..Flynn Rider, Cassandra, Vex (for about 2 minutes), and finally...Hugo.

His mind drifted to Hugo much to his displeasure. To the wink at the library, the extensive texting sessions, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about something he was passionate about...his sharp and defined features..his lips. He wondered how they’d taste..probably like cherries. Oh, he’d do anything to kiss Hugo-wait what? His face, for the umpteenth time flushed bright red as he narrowed his eyes to stare at the table cloth. “Um-no. No I don’t-” he began to protest before the others interrupted him again.

“Aw, really? Our lovable Varian Ruddiger hasn’t captured the hearts of all the ladies he’s ever laid eyes on? I don’t believe it!” Cass exclaimed, taking a sip of the lemonade Rapunzel had made earlier. “Beautiful lemonade, by the way Raps. Good stuff.”

“Yeah, especially when his brother-in-law is the infamous playboy Flynn Rider!” Lance pointed out with a vast smile on his face. “And Cass is right, this lemonade is the best I’ve ever had, Rapunzel.”

“Look guys, can we just-stop talking about my relationship status?” Varian pleaded, his hands resting on the table and his breathing quickening. Oh god, was the room getting smaller? He felt like it was getting smaller. Tears welled up in his eyes as the others continued their teasing at his expense. 

“Just can’t believe it!-”

“I know a lovely girl! She’s Leona’s daughter!-”

“Varian?”

Too hot. It was too hot. No air. Why couldn’t he breathe? Was he dying? What was going on? Why was he shaking so much? He struggled and his chest heaved as he tried to take in more air. It’s too much. Please stop. 

“What happened to Vex? Don’t you like her anymore?-” 

  
Please stop.

“Buddy, are you okay?”

Stop.

“Varian?”   
  


“STOP!” he screamed out, standing up fast and knocking his chair to the floor. Wet trails ran down his face as he harshly wiped his eyes and headed to the door. “Thanks for dinner, it was great.” he growled and shoved past the mass of worried people, throwing open the front door and falling to his knees outside. He gasped for breath, the oxygen being his saviour as it finally felt like he was getting enough. He was free. In. Hold. Out. In. Hold. Out. His body jolted as a hand cautiously rested on his shoulder, squeezing it softly before the mystery comforter sat by him.

“Rapunzel I…”

“Don’t. I get it. Just get yourself together, okay? In for 7, hold for 7, out for 7. Just like I taught you.” she commented with a reassuring smile, holding out her arms for him to fall into. He closed his eyes in the embrace, his hands holding on tight to the fabric of her dress to ground himself. Her perfume had the scent of lavender, calming his nerves and helping him relax further. It reminded him of the old house before the accident. Before his mom left. The good times.

“Varian..I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have pushed you so far. It isn’t fair.” she finally admitted as her hand weaved through his hair in a motherly kind of way. “I’m so sorry we didn’t stop sooner. But just know that-well, you can always tell us if you aren’t comfortable. We’ll respect your choices no matter what.” 

Varian smiled to himself at what his sister said. She always wanted what was best for him - especially after his dad went into a coma. “Thank you so much.” he muttered against her shoulder. “You have..no idea what this means to me.” he sighed, content in the moment before moving back. “I should go home, it’s gonna be really awkward for me to go back.”

Rapunzel looked as though she’d been slapped in the face. “I-are you sure? I doubt the others mind, and I made cupcakes to celebrate you and Cass coming over.”

“Thanks Rapunzel but I just want to go home-” he began to say. A silhouette appeared in the doorway, leaning against it on her upper arm. Cass looked down at the scene, a sympathetic smile on her face as the wind blew her hair about and she held out her hand. “Relax Raps. I’ll take him. I was just leaving anyway. The little twerp just needs to let me know the directions. Oh, and he’ll need this.” she remarked, throwing a helmet towards Varian who, with fumbling hands, caught it. But-why would he need a-

His question was answered as Cass walked away, swinging her leg over the motorbike and sitting down. The bike was..wow. Black was the base coat for the vehicle - red streaks ran across the main body intermingling with blue streaks. He was taken aback, swinging his leg over after placing the helmet on his head. His arms wrapped around Cass’ waist as she started to drive.

It was exhilarating. Wind whistled past his ears, houses merging together at the speed they were moving and the fields became mere blurs in the background. Eyes widened with wonder as he held on, cheering and filled with adrenaline. Cass’ face lit up at the sound of Varian’s childlike enjoyment and wonder as he marvelled at his surroundings. She brought the bike to a stop, smoothing down her hair and helping Varian off. As he trudged up his driveway, she kept her eyes on him. 

“Hey V?” she said, him turning around almost immediately to meet her eyes. “Uh..you should come meet my girlfriend sometime. Her name’s Irene. You’d love her.” she commented, pulling her helmet on as Varian frantically nodded. She silently waved and rode off into the night, leaving Varian on the doorstep of his admittedly shabby house.

Varian stood in silence for a second before a grin split onto his face. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Cass..of course. He knew she’d understand. Thank god he wasn’t alone. Cass knew..she knew what he was dealing with. He turned his head to the direction that her bike went. He’d thank her later, somehow. 

After a few seconds, he strode into the house and made a left to the kitchen, a pearl-white sheet of paper placed onto the counter wedged under the fruit bowl sat in plain sight. Varian read it aloud before throwing it into the trash. “Brilliant. Dad’s working late.” he rolled his eyes, moving towards the cupboard and pouring out some cat food into a bowl. Ruddiger, the fat bastard, came sauntering in, rubbing himself against the boy’s leg before starting to eat. He laughed and started to head upstairs.

He sat on his bed and gazed at the time on his phone. 7:32pm. Hugo should be online. He couldn’t help the stupid smile that cursed his face at the mere thought of the boy in question, pressing his name under messages.

**Varian : Still on for 1 tomorrow?**

He sent the text, still high on the adrenaline rush from the motorbike. Tomorrow was weighing on his mind as he sat up, hurrying to his closet to pick out his clothes for their date. Or at least that’s what Hugo called it and Varian desperately hoped that wasn’t a joke. Extensive searching left him with deciding upon a cyan sweater over a white dress shirt, along with some jeans and his black vans. The infamous chime went off, with Varian essentially jumping over the frame of his bed to read it.

**Hugo : Wouldn’t miss it for the world, sweetie pie <3**

**Hugo : You looked good in the library by the way, short stuff ;)**

Varian rolled his eyes at Hugo’s comment. What else had he expected, honestly. He snuck a glance at his mirror, only to see the same lovestruck grin as every other night before that. God, he loved this boy so much. It wasn’t fair how one person could have this effect on him. How everything felt better when they were talking. Hell, even coffee tasted better when he was drinking it with Hugo. 

**Varian : Better than you, beanpole**

**Hugo : Ouch. Really know how to wound my pride, dontcha?**

**Hugo: Anyway, I’ve gotta study tonight so I’ll see you tomorrow. Same table.**

**Varian : Eye eye, Captain. See you tomorrow.**

Setting his phone aside, Varian watched as Ruddiger crawled to sit on the bed beside him, cuddling under his arm and purring. “Ruddiger, I think i’m in love.” the boy whispered to his companion. 

“I think I’m in love with Hugo Atkinson.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! An update every day! Insane, right?  
> I'm loving this story so so much - however I go back to school soon so my schedule will most likely change. Sorry for any upset this may cause!  
> I'm so happy you guys are enjoying this!


	3. Sweet As Sugar, Right As Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thursday is finally here and both boys are excited to finally see each other again!  
> The day could not get any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW - Strong Language (There's a lot of this throughout the fic)  
> Hey guys! First off, can I say a massive thank you for all the support I've been getting? Considering this is my first fic, it's just been so sweet - so thank you guys so so much. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sunlight beamed through the windows, the rays penetrating the temporary shield of his curtains and straight into his eyes. Hugo let out a loud groan and raised his arm to shield his eyes from the blinding light, however his attempts were futile. He resorted to pulling the emerald sheets over his head with a groan. Birds outside had other plans however, singing and tweeting right outside his goddamn window to ensure he couldn’t go back to sleep. Hugo shoved the sheets back in frustration, kicking them off him and letting them fall into a bundle on the floor. “Note to self. Buy some shutters.” he muttered, propping himself up on his elbows and reaching out for his glasses on the bedside table. 

As everything came into focus, he took a second to look into the mirror. “Holy fucking shit.” he complained. Blonde locks jutted out in every direction imaginable, sticking up unnaturally. “Okay then. Shower time.” he said to no one in particular, shuffling off his bed as it made a painfully loud creak once his weight left it. Squeaking and shuffling sounded from the cage across his room, catching his attention, and he glanced over. A smile quickly took over his face.

“Olivia! Hey there girl.” he jogged over, sitting at his desk and opening the top drawer of his desk to take out a packet of sunflower seeds. He tipped a few out of the packet, examining them in his hand before placing them in the cage in front of her. She inhaled the seeds, chittering and scurrying around in the cage happily after her breakfast with an energy unlike any other he’d seen before.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. You’re excited. But I’ve gotta go get ready, sweetheart.” he muttered, moving to stand. He gave in to his urges at her pouty face (could mice even pout? He’d have to google it later) before reaching into her cage with his finger and running a finger over her smooth, golden fur. “Okay, NOW I’ve gotta go.” he told the mouse sternly, pushing the chair away from the desk and moving to his feet. Arms made their way above his head in a long stretch as he made his way through the tiny apartment to his bathroom. 

He should be grateful, he thought, that Donella was kind enough to let him live alone, but god, this place was less than satisfactory. The window panes were cracked in their frames and never really shut properly - making winters like these with their incessant flurries of snow the worst in the world. Banging and screaming always sounded from above him, with his neighbours being possibly the most dysfunctional couple in the history of romance. The walls were paper thin too - he could hear whenever his frat-boy next door neighbour bought a girl round, dreading whenever he did, and he wasn’t even allowed to keep any real pets! It took MANY hours of seducing the landlord to be allowed to keep Olivia in the apartment with him. And don’t even get him started on the rip-off rent costs. Alas, it was home and he couldn’t bear to live with Donella again. She was a great woman, taking him in when he was young and supporting him, but she was terrible when it came to motherly duties and..it was pointless to expect that from her. 

The bathroom wasn’t much to brag about, either. A lime mat covered most of the tiled floor with a heater barely peeking out under the mass of towels placed carelessly on top of it. Reaching out, he turned the handle and let the water run, so it could heat up gradually. He tapped his foot as we waited, checking his phone. 11:15am. Why did it feel like he was forgetting something? It was probably something Donella told him to do. She did that sometimes - springing plans onto him out of nowhere. As if he didn’t have a social life at all. So inconsiderate, he mumbled to himself. It didn’t matter anyway, the shower water already at the right temperature. He stripped out of his pyjamas and hopped in.

After his shower, Hugo finished drying his hair, tied it up and quietly changed into a light yellow shirt, blue jeans and his signature green jacket. He loved that jacket dearly, it being one of the first gifts Donella ever got him that wasn’t second-hand. (“Your clothes look ratty,” she’d said, trying to suppress her soft smile with a hardened expression. “I got you new ones. Maybe now you’ll look even slightly presentable.”) At least she was trying, he’d told himself as he started to fix his hair in the mirror. 

Once he was fully satisfied, he set his course for the kitchen. In the hall, he passed various framed posters on the walls along with newspapers and small sticky notes with his engineering questions noted down on them. (All green, of course, because what was he, a monster? He had an aesthetic to uphold and he was determined to do so, goddamnit!). Shelves also littered the wall - containing various books on topics like engineering, chemistry, biology and physics. Donella had given him them too, so he had something to read growing up and to entertain himself while she was away on her business trips with her friend, Ulla. Sure, she’d be gone weeks at a time, leaving Hugo with Cyrus to be taken care of, but at least he had someone there to take care of him.

He trailed his hand to the doorknob and twisted it, pushing the door open and walking into the room. It was slightly bigger than the other rooms in the apartment - counters along the walls with a small table in the middle. A clock sat on the wall as well. 12:26pm. Why did it still feel like he was forgetting something? A string of curses left his mouth after he, in his distracted state, stubbed his toe on the chair, “Motherfucker! Ow!” he cried out and hopped awkwardly to the coffee machine which was, not surprisingly at all, fern green. 

Hugo let the machine do its thing, taking the cup of absolute joy after it was done and adding some sugar. Black coffee was his saviour on a morning - especially after he’d had a party the night before. The bitter taste flooded his mouth and tickled his nose, him letting out a content sigh of happiness. This was it. The freedom he’d always wanted. He let the peace of the moment relax the tension in his shoulders and allowed himself a moment where he could just be alone. 

The moment was broken by a bleep on his phone.

“For fuck’s sake..” Hugo muttered as he checked the time again. 12:47pm. Shit, had it really been that long? Oh well..not as if he had anything to do today. His eyes scanned over the text he had received. 

**Cyrus : Hey bud. Have a good time on your date today. Remember - Donella needs you at the workshop by 17:00. Don’t be late.**

Shit.

He’d forgotten. How had he forgotten he was meeting up with Varian? He was such an idiot! He’d scored a date with the most handsome boy on the planet and somehow he’d forgotten! In his panic, Hugo tipped the coffee down the sink and rushed to the door...stubbing his toe again and slipping over. “FUCKING CHAIR!” he yelled and scrambled to his feet, scurrying and sitting on a step to lace up his shoe. His wallet and keys sat on the table by the door, his hand hurriedly scooping them up, shoving them into his pocket and racing out the door.

Lungs gasped for air and burned as he sprinted down the street, dodging people on his journey to the coffee shop. The sun shining in the sky was deceiving, the bitter winter air biting at the back of his neck. He should’ve bought a scarf. It was too goddamn cold out here - the December airs howling past his ears. He should’ve bought his headphones too. Oh god, he hoped Varian hadn’t bailed on him. 

He fell through the doorway, gulping at the stares he received as he made his way through the people in the shop in search of one boy in particular with the beautiful blue streak in his raven hair. He stuttered apologies before his eyes found what he was looking for. Making his way over, he began to apologise. “Hey hairstripe, sorry I’m late. I was-”. His words died out as he made his way closer.

There, in the same booth as before, sat perfection in its finest form. Varian. His azure eyes were focused outside, gazing and half lidded but looking at nothing in particular. His ebony hair blew slightly in the slight breeze created by the fan in the shop, with the blue streaks sticking out against it. Freckled skin had a slight shine to it from the sun’s rays that provided perfect lighting and bringing out his soft features. His cyan sweater complimented the rest of his outfit, the headphones hanging around his neck matching the colour of his sneakers. It was like a movie scene - absolutely perfect. His mouth felt dry as the boy turned his head and gave him an excited smile and Hugo could swear he felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of it. 

“Hugh! Hey!” Varian said, waving his hand and watching Hugo as he moved to sit in the booth opposite him. “It’s fine, you don’t need to apologise. I got here early anyway so I was just listening to some music.” he added onto the end, leaning against the table with a grin on his face. “Love the jacket by the way, really compliments the shirt.” 

“I-thank you. I could say the same for you though. That sweater really brings out your eyes. And your hair.” he reached out his hand, running the strands between his fingers before pulling his hand away. He let out a chuckle at the sight of Varian’s flushed face, eyes fixated on the younger male as he tucked his hair behind his ear and fiddled with the hem of his shirt stuttering out explanations. “Hairstripe, calm down. It’s just a compliment. Anyway, what do you want? The drink is on me.” 

“Oh, um -a vanilla latte again. Please.”

“Don’t miss me too much.” he grinned with a smug expression, laughing when Varian pushed him playfully before walking off to order. He let out a content sigh and glanced back at Varian as he ordered their drinks. The boy in question was playing with his hair as he read a chemistry textbook that he must’ve placed on the table when he left. He looked so beautiful, just sitting there without a care in the world. Hugo could just watch him forever, a red tint starting to build on the tips of his ears and cheeks as he realised just how long he’d been staring. He tore his eyes away from the breathtaking boy near the window and brought his attention back to the barista.

“Vanilla latte and black coffee for Hugo?” the chestnut haired girl questioned, placing the drinks on the side and allowing Hugo to pick them up. He nodded graciously, flashing her a smile before returning to his seat. Leaving a $5 tip in the jar on the way, he sauntered back to the table with the drinks in hand and a smile on his face. 

“Lord Varian, your drink has been served by your humble servant. I am forever in your debt.” he laughed and sat down opposite the boy again as he pulled his drink close to his chest and took a sip. Hugo looked out of the window with a smile, eyeing the people walking past in the freezing weather, holding hands with their loved ones and cuddling them close to ward back the december breeze. He wished he could do that with a certain obsidian haired boy sitting across from him reading a chemistry textbook like the adorable nerd he was. “So. How’s your week been? I saw you were in the library yesterday. You did look great by the way.” He smirked and winked in his direction.

“Oh! It's been fine, Hugh. I do tutoring with Nuru on Wednesdays. We look after the sweetest boy in the world called Yong. He’s seriously the smartest kid I’ve ever met, but he gets so nervous to show it, y’know? And Nuru...god, she’s an amazing girl! Intelligent, yes, but just so mature and caring towards everyone! She’s a sweetheart really. How about you? Why were you there yesterday?” Varian asked quizzically, giving Hugo a little head tilt that made his heart soar. Fuck, he loved this boy. 

“Me? Oh well, I was just picking up some books and doing some studying. I have an essay due in a few weeks and I just needed to look up some things.” he lied through his teeth. It was TOTALLY not because he wanted to see the other teen again before their date. Nope. No way. Nuh-uh. 

“If you want me to, I could help you with your-”

“NO!” He yelled out, leaning forward against the table before flushing red and moving back into his seat, composing himself and tapping his leg rapidly to calm himself down. “I’m sorry, I uh-I think I’ll be fine on my own. Thanks for the offer though.” he chuckled awkwardly, letting out an exasperated sigh. “Sorry...I’m just really awkward.” he apologised, sliding back in his chair and covering his face with his hands. Great. Perfect. Absolutely swell. He’s just embarrassed himself in front of the boy of his dreams like an absolute idiot. If whatever god there was could just strike him dead right now, that would be fan-fucking-tastic-

A giggle followed by laughter and snorts broke him out of his spiral of self hatred. Varian’s hands wrapped around his wrists and gently lowered them, the most loving smile Hugo had ever seen plastered on his face as he dealt with the aftershocks of his laughing fit. “It’s okay. It was cute.” the boy commented, Hugo’s face twisting into a smile as well before joining him in his fit of laughter. 

They must’ve looked like a strange pair - two boys laughing so hard they were in tears at a coffee shop in the middle of December, but neither of them cared. They were happy and that was all that mattered. Both took a sip from their coffees as they kept their eyes locked on each other. “Yep.” Varian thought, “Coffee does taste better when I’m drinking it with Hugo.” he concluded. He shuffled over in his booth, allowing Hugo to slide in beside him and look at the textbook to help with his questions. 

Hugo tried his hardest to ignore how close Varian was, but after a few hours it became harder and harder to focus,with their shoulders pressed against each other and leaning forward with their eyes fixated on the book. A deep red flush developed on his cheeks yet again. Any closer and they’d be…Hugo tried not to focus on that, his gaze directing to Varian’s hand. He slowly and shakily took the younger’s hand in his own.

Hugo turned his head to look at Varain, the younger boy coincidentally doing the same thing at the same time. Their noses almost touched, but both of them were too lost in the moment to bother pointing out the awkwardness of the situation, with Hugo intertwining their fingers under the table. “Hugo?” the younger whispered. Hugo could feel the tantalizing breath on his lips, intermingling with his own. Just a little closer. He tilted his head, leaning in and..

His phone rang.

Hugo snapped back to reality and moved away from Varian, letting go of his hand, much to both boy’s disappointment, and picked up his phone to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hugo.” Donella’s rough voice replied, and boy howdy, did she sound pissed off. He was in trouble for sure this time. “It's 5pm. Where the hell are you.” she growled through the phone.

“Shit, Donella I’m sorry. I forgot all about the time. I’ll start heading over now, I promise-”

“Hurry up then.” she commented before hanging up, leaving no time for discussion. Hugo turned to see Varian - the hurt on his face wounding Hugo’s heart. A kicked puppy would probably look less hurt than the boy did in that moment. And he put that look on his face. He really was the worst wasn’t he? 

“Hey-write down your address. I’ll pick you up at 5 next Thursday-” he began to say, Varian’s face twisting in confusion before grabbing a napkin and handing it to Hugo. “Alright, I’m sorry to cut this short.” he sighed and gathered his things together. Hugo turned to leave, before he felt a hand grab his wrist and a kiss was placed on his cheek. 

“Thank you.” Varian looked at the floor, his face flushed red however a smile was still evident on it. Hugo’s mouth felt dry yet again as he froze for a second, a now all too familiar heat covering his face. He nodded in response and headed out the store, where he immediately leant against the wall and placed a hand on his cheek. 

“Holy fucking shit..” he whispered to himself. “I’m in love with Varian Ruddiger.” He let himself get lost in the moment before another bleep reminded him of where he had to be. Shit. He started sprinting down the street, his path illuminated by streetlights as he passed them with a smile on his face. Well…

Next week was gonna be interesting.

He opened the door to the workshop Donella ran, passing her henchmen as if they weren’t threatening at all. They fixed their glares onto him - okay yep, he was definitely in trouble for being late. He pushed open the doors, putting on his smug facade as he made his way to Donella’s desk. “Hey Donella, I’m here.” he declared, placing his hands on the desk and leaning against it. “You needed me?”

“Yes, I did.” she frowned at him and gave him her infamous death stare. He cowered back slightly before regaining his composure again. “I trust this won’t happen again..?” she questioned, a slight smile tugging on her lips at the frantic nod he gave. “Good. Now get to work. We have an important client who requested specifically for you to make his product so..get to it.” 

He hurriedly left her office, heading to his workspace and pulling on his goggles and gloves. Sheesh, that woman could seem evil sometimes - he bet in her past life, she was probably a supervillain. Maybe in an alternate universe, she was. He let out a breathy chuckle, glancing over the blueprints. Hm. Looked difficult, but he could do it. He set the paper aside and began to work, the incident from the coffee shop still playing on his mind. 

He couldn’t wait to see Varian again.

Meanwhile, Varian packed his things again and began his walk home. Was Hugo about to...kiss him? Did he seriously feel the same as he did? It made him feel giddy just thinking about the way Hugo’s cold hands felt against his warm ones, the closeness that made his heart pound and ache for more contact, the way Hugo leaned in and tilted his head...wow. Hugo liked him. And he liked Hugo. 

He pushed open his door and, once again, fed Ruddiger before heading up to his room. The cat purred gratefully and ate before following his master, lounging across his bed as if he owned the place. The audacity of the fat bastard! “Sometimes I wonder why I feed you.” Varian wondered aloud, grinning as the cat meowed back and swatted V’s hand as he tried to pet him. “Ow! Okay! Geez, I get it!” he laughed before reaching over and grabbing his phone to see some texts from Hugo.

**Hugo : Sorry for leaving so early, short stuff**

**Hugo : My mom needed me for something and I completely forgot**

**Hugo : But hey, next week you’ll have me all to yourself ;)))**

Varian scoffed and looked at Ruddiger, who he swore had a disgusted expression as he read the phone screen. “I know Ruddiger. Absolutely disgraceful, isn’t it?” He chuckled, but..deep down he knew he wasn’t opposed to the idea of having Hugo all to himself...He shut that idea down fast, typing out a sarcastic response as he tried (and massively failed) to feign annoyance.

**Varian : You wish I’d want that, you twerp**

**Hugo : Oh I don’t wish, I know ;)**

**Hugo : also, V?**

**Varian : What is it now, Hugh?**

**Hugo : Thanks for the kiss. Didn’t get the chance to say that earlier but..thanks**

**Hugo : Anyway, I’ve gotta go. Mom wants me.**

**Hugo : See you next week, sweetie <3**

**Varian : No problem, Hugo. See you next week =)**

Varian set his phone aside and sat up. He completely forgot. He kissed Hugo’s cheek.  _ Oh god, please don’t make it awkward _ , he internally begged. He didn’t want things to become weird between them. He really...really liked Hugo and just didn’t wanna mess this one up. He changed into his PJ’s and shuffled under the covers, reading through their conversations.

“Goodnight Ruddiger..” he muttered as he turned off the lights and closed his eyes, trying to drift off to sleep. He sighed in frustration and brought out his phone, turning it on quietly and typing out 3 words. 

**Varian : I Love You**

His lips twitched into a frown as he stared at those 3 words. They held so much weight - had the power to change the course of his and Hugo’s relationship as soon as he sent them. He thought back to their meeting. Was he just being friendly? Did he just get distracted? Did Hugo actually like him? A hand reached up to run through his hair. What if he was just misreading the signs? 

What if Hugo found out? What if he found out about all the terrible things Hugo had done? The people he hurt? How badly he messed up? Varian bit his lip so harshly the metallic taste of blood flooded into his mouth. Hugo would never love someone like that. Someone who did everything that he did. Tears he didn’t even know had developed fell onto his phone screen, to his surprise. He quietly set it down and wiped his eyes. Not tonight, he thought.

Varian held his finger down, erasing the text and setting his phone aside. He tucked his knees into his chest and looked at the wall. He had to tell him one day. Not now, but one day. He slowly started to drift to sleep, the thought of their date still fresh in his mind and the remnants of a smile on his face. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo! Hugo's POV! I really hope i did him justice - I adore his character with my whole heart and just think he's a pretty neat dude!  
> Hope you all enjoyed!


	4. Skating On Thin Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Wednesday. Again.  
> Varian prepares himself for the normal routine - but will it really go through as it normally does?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! Sorry for such frequent updates aha...I'm just really excited to be writing this story and bringing these characters to life! I also have A LOT of free time and want to finish as much as I can before school starts up again.  
> Additionally, thank you for so much support!

Varian tied his hair back into a ponytail as he walked downstairs to the kitchen, Ruddiger strutting after him happily. He dragged his feet across the silver carpet in his still-sleepy haze, passing awards and family pictures that were displayed proudly in the main hall of the house. A yawn escaped his mouth despite his attempts to hold it back, and he reached up to rub the tears that built in his eyes away along with the last remnants of sleep. A sleep his body desperately wanted him to return back to, judging by how sluggish he felt. The kitchen door moaned as he pushed it open, taking his time on every movement he took.

He scavenged through the kitchen for something to eat, all the while Ruddiger mewled and meowed to gain some attention and, while he was at it, some food to eat. Varian eventually gave in, lifting the bowl onto the counter and grabbing a sachet of cat food. He emptied the packet, the tabby cat jumping onto the counter and scoffing it down, causing him to chuckle while he took out the bread and butter from the refrigerator. “Toast it is, buddy.” he uttered to himself as he slid the bread into the device. 

While the toast was..well, toasting, he climbed onto a counter and opened the cabinet near the stove. An assortment of cups greeted him - all with different colours and various patterns. A certain one met his eye. The corners of his lips quirked up in a smile as the memories came flooding back to him. 

_ “Are you sure you want me to have this? After all I’ve done to you..?” his nervous voice asked. He was sixteen again in Rapunzel’s kitchen after his father had woken up from his coma. The aroma of cinnamon was in the air combined with apple, creating the illusion that it was fall in the small room as Rapunzel set aside the gift and took his hands in her own. Her expression was earnest, honest.  _

_ “Varian..I don’t care what you’ve done in the past. We’ve all forgiven you, regardless of what you may think. You’re family.” she stated with a smile that held nothing but love for the boy in front of her. Tears built in his eyes as he looked over at the silver box, wrapped in a teal bow, set on the kitchen table by the blonde only a few moments prior. _

_ Taking a seat on the lilac cushioned chairs, he brought the box closer to him with shaky hands and unwrapped the dainty bow carefully, as though it would fall apart at even the slightest amount of force. Upon lifting the lid, he was met with the sight of some paper - matching the color of the bow. Pulling it out, he gasped as his eyes met the mug that had been placed in the box with care. He took it out and examined it in his hands. _

_The mug was teal (also like the bow and paper it was packed with)_ _decorated with paintings of test tubes, beakers and a small raccoon on the side. Ruddiger. Unwillingly, his eyes started to water again, tears betraying him and rolling down his cheeks hitting the table cloth below him. “Thank you.” He uttered, his voice barely a whisper as he struggled to hold back his tears. Arms came around from behind him and pulled him into a motherly embrace, a gentle kiss being placed on the back of his head as he let himself cry freely. A swift turn allowed him to hug the blonde, his eyes squeezing shut to rid them of the last few tears that had developed in them before he moved away._

_ “Me, Eugene and Cass searched for hours, but couldn’t find the right one. Then I thought ‘Hey! Why don’t we paint a mug for him?’ and thus..that was created. It’s okay, right? I tried to put everything I knew you liked on it, but I wasn’t sure, so I had to get Cass to-” Her rambling was cut off as the boy clung to her with his face buried into the fabric on her shoulder. Reluctantly, she ran her fingers through his raven locks and exchanged the hug.  _

_ “I love you, Rapunzel. You’re the best sister in the world.” he whispered as he held onto her, his hands gripping onto her shirt as he let himself be vulnerable around Rapunzel. He’d tormented and hurt her so much..but she still cared for him. _

_ “I love you too, Varian.” She replied, moving out of the hug when he was calmer and ready. “Anyway, Cmon! We need to make you one of my infamous vanilla lattes now that you have your own cup!” She declared, clapping her hands and picking up the cup to start the drink. His eyes followed her as she moved expertly around the kitchen and prepared his drink. A smile steadily grew on his face. _

_ He was forgiven. _

_ He was home. _

He seized the cup and hopped down from the counter, closing the ivory door of the cabinet and heading towards the coffee machine. He set the cup under it and started up the machine, leaning against the counter and checking his phone. Wednesday, 8:14am. Good - he woke up in time to get ready for his class at 11. “No messages from Hugo though.” his brain reminded him, disappointment making a heavy weight in his stomach. Maybe he wasn’t up yet? Probably, he reasoned as he took the toast from the toaster and buttered it before grabbing his coffee and sitting at the table. 

Ever the greediest cat on earth, Ruddiger settled at Varian’s feet and swatted at them with his paw. “Oh my god, you’ve just had your breakfast! No!” he shook his foot to scare the cat away, but he didn’t let up. The evil little bastard continued swatting at his foot until, eventually, Varian let up. “Okay!” he yelled, accepting his defeat as he opened another package of cat food, emptied it into the burgundy food bowl and threw it away. That seemed to do the trick - the stubborn feline finally moving away from the table and leaving his owner in peace.

“I swear..all you do is eat and sleep all day, every day.” he muttered to himself as he took a prolonged sip of his coffee. It hit the mark - him feeling way more energised as the caffeine kicked in. Taking a bite from his toast, he smiled to himself and looked around the kitchen at the wallpaper that had been wearing away for quite some time, at the window just above the sink that looked out on the garden (that they honestly never used enough now) he used to play in as a kid with his mom, at the small frames across the wall holding precious memories of his childhood from before the incident. It wasn’t much by any means, but it was his home. 

He glanced at his phone screen again. 8:30am. “Okay, time for me to get ready.” he proclaimed to no one in particular, moving to his feet and scraping the chair back across the kitchen floor. Cringing at the noise, he cast a glance to Ruddiger, who was sleeping contently on the windowsill. He could be so cute sometimes. Only sometimes though. He picked up his plate and cup, placing them in the sink underneath the cat. He reached his now-free hand out and ran it down the cat’s fur gently before heading back upstairs to his room.

Once he was dressed, opting for a black sweater and navy trousers along with some sneakers, he picked up his bag. Packing in his laptop and chemistry books, he moved downstairs for the final time to head outside. He glanced at the coat rack, pulling on a ink-like coat and a knitted emerald scarf Rapunzel had given him as a Christmas present one year - him silently noting that it matched the color of Hugo’s eyes. (This thought made him feel bubbly - knowing full well Hugo would love it if he saw it. He made a mental note to wear it next time Hugo offered for them to go on a date.) He unlocked the door, scooping up his keys and heading out the door.

The first thing that he noticed was just how cold the temperature was - the chill travelling down his spine. Nonetheless, he shoved his hands into his pockets and began his journey to the campus, eyes focusing on the floor in silence. It wasn’t long, only 20 minutes, but the chill got to him fast and by the time he’d stepped into the labs, he was shivering intensely. Giving a nod to his professor, he took his seat (second to last row, three seats from the aisle) and took out his equipment, ready to start the lesson. 

He couldn’t focus - all lesson he subtly scrolled through his phone as he prayed Hugo would send him a text or something to let him know he was okay. He gazed down at the phone screen. Surely he would be awake by now, so why wasn’t Hugo texting him. He huffed and slid back in his chair, desperately trying to keep his focus on the lesson.

The professor kept them late. Again. Varian hurriedly shoved his stuff into his bag and began rushing down to the library. Wind whistled past his ears and his scarf blew frantically around his neck from just how fierce it was. His cheeks went a deep shade of scarlet, dusting his nose and ears. Freckles sat defined over his face as he made his way past the nameless students and over to Nuru and Yong - who, by the looks of it, had started astronomy without him. 

“Sorry guys, I was just-” he cut himself off at the sight of Hugo, leaning over Yong and explaining part of the physics work set out in front of him. God, he looked breathtaking. His hair was tied back in its usual small ponytail, with a moss green winter coat around his shoulders and goggles hanging round his neck. He glanced up at Varian and immediately straightened, pushing his glasses up his nose with a broad smile on his face. Fuck. Why did he have to look so good in green?

“Varian! Hey, I’ve been waiting for you!” he commented, making his way around the table to put his arm round the other boy’s shoulders. The mere action made Varian’s face flush in embarrassment, Hugo not helping whatsoever as he pulled the younger closer to him. He seemed to be revelling in the way he was making Varian a flustered, stuttering mess. “Well then. I know this may be extremely heartbreaking for you, Nuru, but we must be taking our leave now. I bid thee farewell!” he declared, ushering Varian towards the door as Nuru rolled her eyes and muttered ‘Yeah, you wish.’ under her breath.

“Hold on-what do you mean? Where are we going?” Varian queried, looking up at the taller boy who had just swept him away from his friends with absolutely no explanation. His mood became disheartened as a wicked grin grew on Hugo’s face, him stepping back and raising his eyebrow. “What are you planning, Hugo Atkinson?” he implored.

“Welllll….” Hugo began as he took Varian’s hand in his own and interlaced their fingers, moving to stand in front of him. “I promised you another date! So I came to pick you up and remembered ‘Shit, it’s Wednesday!’ so I drove to the library and waited! Your friends showed up and you hadn’t yet, so I just..sat down with them and decided to offer my extensive knowledge on literally everything to them. And managed to convince Nuru to give you up for a day so I could take you out. Also off topic but..I’m ninety-eight percent sure she hates me, but as if I care!” he rambled, looking down at the confusion on the raven haired boy’s beautiful face. A smile tugged at his lips. “Long story short, I’m taking you on a date. Surprise!” 

Varian stood dumbfounded before a breathy laugh left his lips, bringing Hugo down to his level and placing a fleeting kiss on his cheek. “That’s adorable. Go on then, take me away, Casanova.” 

He relished in the blush that flooded over Hugo’s cheek and the stuttering that followed as he held Varian’s hand tight and led him along the cobbled streets of Corona. They walked and walked until Hugo gestured to a small ice-skating rink in the town centre. “And our date is ice-skating!” he remarked, squeezing Varian’s hand. “I hope that’s okay. I just thought we needed a little switch up from the coffee shop.”

Varian gasped in excitement and gave a frantic nod. “Hugo, this is perfect! Thank you so much!” he cried as he dragged the blonde along to go and get some skates so they could go onto the ice. The taller boy merely laughed and looked down at the childish excitement on his face. God, he loved this boy so much. It didn’t seem real. 

As soon as they got their skates on and headed onto the ice, Varian’s mood soured.

He must’ve slipped a billion times as soon as they got on, finally relenting and heading to grip onto the barrier. His mom took him thousands of times when he was little. Why was he forgetting how to do it now? He let out a groan of frustration and rubbed his face with his hand. Why was this so hard? Now he was embarrassing himself in front of Hugo and Hugo would never want to see him again and-

“Hairstripe?” a voice came from behind him, a hand resting on his waist. “Hey, no. Let me show you, okay?” Hugo gestured and trailed his hand down, linking it with Varian’s and beginning to glide, moving further and further away from the barrier. 

It felt like time had frozen, or the universe had fallen away and left only him and Hugo as the travelled in continuous circles round the rink. Hugo squeezed his hand in reassurance whenever he thought he might fall and caught him when he stumbled. It was perfect - just them with no interference from anyone else. It was perfect. 

After a while, they exited the rink laughing and high on a cloud of pure euphoria with their hands still interlaced and warm. Varian let out a happy sigh and turned his head to look at Hugo, who’s free hand snaked around his waist. “It’s been fun today. I wanna do this again. All the time.” He muttered, moving his hand to cup Hugo’s cheek and rub it with his thumb absentmindedly, his eyes focusing on the way Hugo’s sparkled in the soft light of the lanterns outside. 

“Varian.” Hugo whispered his name in response, letting go of his hand to rest under the boy’s chin. He tilted his head and began to lean in. Varian’s eyes fluttered shut as they were only centimetres- no. Millimetres apart. He could feel Hugo’s breath on his lips. Just a little more-

He was tugged back by a hand grasping his collar to see Eugene in front of him. “Varian what the fuck are you doing?! Why the hell are you out here with him?” he yelled and turned to face his little brother. Varian took a mental note on the fury painted over Eugene’s usually relaxed demeanour. “Y’know what? Tell me in the car. We’re leaving.” He grabbed the boy’s wrist and forcefully tugged him towards the car, despite Varian’s struggling and protests.

Hugo stood dumbfounded and watched as Varian was pulled away from him, tears building in his eyes as he looked at the sidewalk he was left on as the car drove away. He pulled out his phone to make a call.

“What.” Donella’s voice dripped with annoyance.

“I won’t be coming in tonight, sorry.” he declared as he hung up the phone. Quietly, he pulled up the hood of his coat and picked Varian’s emerald scarf off the floor before silently putting it on and beginning his journey home. He knew full well he’d suffer tomorrow for that, but it didn’t matter anymore. He pushed his glasses into his hair and wiped away the tears they were hiding, continuing to walk away from the town centre and to his apartment.

Unlocking the door, he leaned back to shut it before sliding to the floor and letting himself cry unabashedly. Why? Why did it have to be like this? Did life really hate him that much? Now he’d never be allowed to see Varian again-or Varian would find out about everything he’s done and decide he didn’t want someone like that in his life and leave him. Just like everyone else.

He felt like he’d cried for hours when he finally went upstairs and lay on his bed, letting Olivia out of her cage to sit on the bed beside him as he stared numbly at the ceiling. Maybe that's how it was meant to be. Maybe him and Varian weren’t meant to be together. Someone as perfect as Varian deserved better than him...he let out a pained sigh and turned to face Olivia. “Well Liv..it was fun while it lasted, huh?”

As soon as they were in the car, Eugene’s tangent had begun. “What happened to texting, huh? To letting your family know you weren’t gonna be there because you were busy with something else? Jesus Christ, Varian, we’ve all been terrified! I have been waiting outside the library since 5! Now it's 8pm! And what’s worse is you were with a criminal! A goddamn CRIMINAL!” he ranted on and on, Varian turning his head and glaring at Eugene.

“What do you mean ‘criminal’? Weren’t you one before? Never mind that, I was a criminal before too!” he snarled, his head whipping back around to glare out of the car window. He didn’t even recognise where they were driving anymore - the surroundings too dark to see anything.

“That little shit has been committing petty theft in the area - pickpocketing and all that. And so what if we were like that? People like him never change. I would know!”

“But we’ve changed, Eugene!” 

“We’re different to him, Varian-”   
  
“How the fuck are we different to him?!”

“Varian-”   
  
“NO! Tell me how the fuck we are different to him!-”

“THAT'S ENOUGH, VARIAN!” Eugene’s voice boomed through the car, stunning Varian into silence as he flinched away from the brunette in shock. His bottom lip trembled and his shoulders shook as he desperately attempted to hold back his tears. “Shit-Varian, I-”

“Pull over. Now.” Varian stated, his voice oozing with hurt and anger as he kept staring at his feet. Eugene obliged sadly and pulled the car over, watching the younger boy get out and start sprinting into the night. He rested his head against the steering wheel, tears building in his eyes. Well, now he’d fucked up. He hadn’t meant to yell so loud at Varian...fuck. He sighed and began the drive home, praying to himself that Varian would get back safe.

Once he knew he was far away from the car, he stopped running. He sat on the floor and pressed his head against his knees. In 7, hold 7, out 7, he told himself and kept repeating multiple times. His chest eventually stopped heaving and his limbs stopped aching. He leaned back and stared at the stars in the sky, deep in thought.

Everything was perfect. He was happy, Hugo was happy..so why did it all have to end so badly? He bit the inside of his cheek as he thought of Hugo. He had to see him again. He couldn’t just leave him. His hands shook as he unlocked his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He took one final deep breath and called Hugo. 

“Hello? Varian?” Oh god. His voice sounded so broken. He must’ve been crying this whole time. It was so much different from how it usually sounded. Varian felt his heart shatter a little bit more as he listened to the boy on the other end of the phone. “Varian, whats up?”

“What’s your address? I’m coming over. Now.” He bluntly stated, more of a request than a question. He definitely needed to see the other boy now, desperately.

Confusion laced Hugo’s voice as he replied to Varian, a light creaking sounding in the background as he presumably moved to sit up. “Are you sure, Varian? What’s going on-” 

“Just tell me, Hugo!” He yelled, his desperation clear. “Please. I need to see you.” He added the last part, lowering his voice significantly and brushing his tears away at the other boy’s barely audible ‘okay’ in response. 

Hugo shut himself up, sending through the address and hanging up on the distraught boy. He lay back on his bed, a frown on his face before heading down the hall to sit in the living room. 20 minutes later, a knock rang through the tiny building and he sprinted to unlock the door, his eyes meeting the tearful boy that he loved so dearly. Silently, he stepped out of the way to let the boy in before closing the door and pulling him into an embrace. The younger gripped onto his shirt and cried, each sob wracking his whole, thin frame. Hugo bit his lip and let out an exasperated sigh.

This really was going to be a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy howdy, that was a wild ride.   
> Yet again, let me know if these updates are annoying and I'll try to work a schedule out as fast as I can!  
> Bye till tomorrow! (Probably aha!)


	5. Bittersweet Aftertastes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After his explosive fight with Eugene, all Varian wants to do is be in the arms of the one he loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya - back atcha with the daily uploads AND chapter 5!  
> I hope you all enjoy this one. Thank you for all your support!  
> TW - Strong Language

Consoling the boy in front of him was...not an easy task to say the least, endless streams of tears leaving his eyes which broke Hugo’s heart each time one rolled down his now-red face, flushed from crying. He just wanted to scoop Varian up and take him away from all of this - to be alone with him where they didn’t have to worry about anything else. Obviously that wasn’t an option, but that didn’t stop him from silently pleading to the universe for it to become one.

Hugo threaded his fingers through the smaller boy’s hair, letting them sit on the floor of his hallway in each other’s embrace and kissing his forehead as he soothed him. He whispered sweet nothings to him to provide the boy with some sense of comfort as the storm inside him brewed. Sobs died down into pathetic little whimpers, akin to a wounded animal or a kicked puppy, and tears stopped making little puddles in his shirt.

“Feeling better?” Hugo enquired, leaning back slightly to allow himself to see the pained boy’s face. Blotched cheeks met him, eyes swollen from his extensive crying and his bottom lip quivering as he nodded, moving closer to Hugo again as they stood and walked down the hall towards the living room. Carefully, Hugo sat Varian down on the fern green couch before kissing his forehead yet again and moving back. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Hugo muttered, waiting for Varian’s nod of approval before he turned on his heel and exited the room. 

In only a few strides, he arrived in the kitchen again, immediately striding over to a moss-green cabinet beside his stove, crouching and opening it. Taking out two cups, a sapphire one and an, of course, jade one, before setting them aside and starting the coffee machine. Searching the various other cabinets and cupboards around the cramped room rewarded him with some vanilla syrup (some that he TOTALLY didn’t buy just in case Varian came over, no way) before sauntering back over to the discarded cups. He distracted himself by setting the cups under the machine and letting them fill, sitting down on the counter and scrolling through his phone in silence. Looking up, his eyes glossed over the boy in the living room, who sat staring at the floor with a troubled expression on his face.

Hugo pushed down the feelings of guilt building in his stomach as he turned back to the coffee machine, sliding off the counter and adding the syrup along with one teaspoon of brown sugar into the sapphire mug. ‘What happened in the car?’ he pondered as he stirred the dark liquid in the cup, pouring in the milk deep in thought. What did Varian’s brother have against him? At least, he thought it was his brother, the brunette man bore no physical resemblance to Varian at all and looked far too young to be the father, let alone the father of a nineteen year old. Nevertheless, it didn’t explain his...for lack of a better word, explosive reaction to the pair. Hugo thought back, but no, he couldn’t remember a point in time where he’d potentially robbed the guy - he’d remember a face as unique as that. Shit, he thought as he stopped stirring, drops of coffee dribbling down his hand. “VERY smart, Hugo..” he groaned as he grabbed some tissue to clean his hand with, picking up the two cups and strolling to the kitchen.

“Hey V, I’ve got your drink.” he said softly, placing it on the table in front of the boy and taking a seat beside him. The boy only gave a soft smile in response, picking up the cup and taking a sip. He hummed in satisfaction, taking the time to shuffle closer to the blonde and cuddle against him, muttering a barely audible ‘thank you’ as Hugo’s arm snaked around his shoulders to pull him closer to him. He looked so helpless. He didn’t deserve to feel that way whatsoever. Hugo felt his heart ache. “You wanna talk about it now? It’s fine if not, I just…thought it might help you I guess?” 

He cursed to himself mentally. Why was he so bad at comforting people? Why was he so awkward? Why couldn’t he just...be normal and not stutter and stammer through each sentence when he was around the other boy, who had now set his cup aside and cuddled against him further before clearing his throat. “Don’t feel pressured to, Varian. I was just-”

“No, Hugo. I’m ready to talk. You deserve to know everything.” he uttered, cutting Hugo off. His eyes, filled with guilt, had a sadness behind them while he sat with his shoulder slumped. Defeated was the only word that came to mind as Varian let out a sigh, proceeding with his explanation.

“He said that you’re a criminal and that you’ll never change. I don’t believe that thought. At all. You see, Eugene used to be like that - a criminal who went by the alias Flynn Rider. He was a petty thief - pickpocketing and all that jazz. Until he decided to steal from the mayor. Cue Rapunzel. She convinced her dad not to hurt him, and she promised she could help him get on the right side of the tracks. And he did! He turned his life around - he even joined the Coronan police force with Lance and helped improve the rehabilitation of criminals in jails in positive ways! She helped him become better, but it just frustrated me about what he said because...” he let out a frustrated groan, slumping back on the couch and tugged his hair. 

“He’s not the only one with a dark past.” Varian added, clear as day. Confusion washed over Hugo’s face as he looked at Varian’s darkened, deathly serious expression. What else was he hiding? Of course he didn’t want to push him too far, but now...his interest had peaked and his curiosity got the better of him as he waited for the rest of the explanation.

“When I was fourteen, I hurt my dad really badly. So badly, in fact, that he went into a coma. By that point, my mother had left and I had no one to turn to. So I ran, in the middle of a snowstorm mind you, to the mayor’s house. I begged and begged for help, for someone to listen to me, or to give me some money to be able to afford a good hospital for my dad to recover in! But no one did. I felt tossed aside, so I did what any kid my age would do. I turned to crime to try and raise money for my dad’s hospital bills. I was desperate. And that’s when I met Andrew.” Another lengthy pause.

“I’d sell drugs for his gang, the Saporians, and they’d give me a cut of the money so that when dad finally did wake up, we’d be just fine financially. Then they wanted me to rob a cottage. I really really didn’t want to, but...the thought of seeing my dad again made me. But I got caught by Rapunzel, the mayor’s daughter. If she wanted to, she could’ve just called the cops on me and gotten me arrested. But she didn’t.”

“She told me all about the night I begged her for help and that she desperately wanted to, but there were citizens severely in danger because of the snowstorm, and she had to help them before she could help me. From there, she forgave me. She forgave me for trying to rob her and all my other crimes. I helped her to take down the Saporian gang - as it turns out, they were planning to attack the city..and she helped fund my father’s hospital funds. Hell, she even let me stay with her while I was waiting for him to get better. And he did. I got my dad back and everything went back to normal.”

“My point is...Eugene’s being a hypocrite. He knows me and him did some bad stuff - but we changed. And I know you can.I just hope you don’t..think differently of me” He commented, the expression on his face solemn as he looked at Hugo. Hugo sat, lost for words, as he stared at the boy in front of him. Wow. That was...a lot of emotional baggage that was just unpacked. Not that it was a problem - in fact, Varian talking about his feelings was FAR better than him keeping them in but..wow. 

“Varian.” he began, taking the younger boy’s hands in his own. “I don’t care who you were before, I care who you are now. So what if you were a criminal? So was I. I grew up on the streets after my parents abandoned me at birth. It was hard, but I had to do it to survive. Then Donella took me in and showed me a different way to make money - using my engineering skills to take commissions and make machines for people and sell them.” He paused for a second, realising he was rambling. “What i mean to say is...I love you, Varian. Regardless of who you were before. I love you.” Shakily, he stopped and their eyes locked, anxiety building in his stomach as Varian’s eyes studied his face in silence. “I’m sorry if I’m moving too fast with this-fuck,I should go-”

His words were cut off as the younger boy lunged forward, wrapping his arms round the blonde’s neck and knocking him back onto the sofa. Their lips met in an admittedly sloppy kiss, neither of them really caring as Hugo’s hand drifted to rest on Varian’s waist. They settled into the kiss, heads tilting and eyes remaining shut as their lips moved against each other in perfect harmony, with the only sound they could hear being each other’s heartbeats as their chests pressed against each other and the occasional breathy moan escaping from either boy’s mouth.

Varian was the one to break the kiss, sitting in Hugo’s lap with a wide grin plastered on his face as he stared down at the older male with the utmost affection in his eyes. “I love you too, Hugo. I love you so much-god, it feels so good to finally say that. I love you, I love you, I love you.” He kept repeating, giving time for Hugo to prop himself up on his elbows and lean in for another kiss - this one being far superior to the amateur one prior. It was slow, sweet and gave Hugo plenty of time to savour the taste of vanilla that lingered on Varian’s lips. 

Hugo, eventually managing to pry Varian off his lap with very little struggling from the other, picked the teen up in his arms and trailed fleeting kisses down his neck and across his collarbone as they stumbled to his room, the soft moans Varian let out not helping Hugo’s ability to focus in the slightest. Despite all odds, they got there and Hugo immediately got to work. Laying Varian down, he hovered over him and proceeded to kiss him senseless, pulling back to observe the swollen lips and scarlet blush over his face that he’d grown so accustomed to seeing. He loved it. He loved everything about this boy - the name Varian now synonymous with perfection in his mind. Alas, he was exhausted and didn’t want to push the other too far after the absolute rollercoaster today was.

“As much as I would love to take this further, and believe me, I would, I’m exhausted and want my eight hour beauty sleep, thank you very much.” he stated as he lay down beside Varian, pulling him close by his waist and into a tight embrace. 

“Yeah, you sure as hell need it.” Varian added smugly, cackling as Hugo began to tickle him. “NO! Ah-Fuck! I’m sorry! Just stop!” he yelled between fits of laughter as he curled up into a ball against the man beside him. Hugo relented, his arm moving around the raven haired teen as he rested his head on his chest after pulling the green bed covers over them both. “Goodnight Hugo..I love you.” he whispered, his eyes fluttering shut as he drifted off to sleep.

Hugo took a second to admire the boy, the same lovestruck smile creeping its way onto his face yet again. He was so stunning no matter what he did. Hugo couldn’t get enough of him - his greed proving useful for once in his life. A sigh of happiness left his lips as he placed a gentle kiss on the sleeping boy’s forehead. “I love you too, Varian. Goodnight, my dear.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Varian’s eyes opened in the morning, the first thing that registered in his brain was the unusually large amount of sunlight bleeding in through the window. As he grew accustomed to this invasive light, he realised. He wasn’t in his room. It was too green, and the lack of a particular fatass cat just proved his point further. 

The second thing that registered was the sound of humming heading closer and closer to the door. The door swung open and in stepped Hugo, carrying a small tray with two plates stacked with blueberry pancakes, two cups and a bottle of syrup. His hair wasn’t tied up yet, the golden locks sitting a few inches above his shoulders and concealing that dumb undercut. (He’d claimed it was a ‘pinnacle of fashion’ that Varian wouldn’t understand considering how his outfit on that day was, in his words, ‘a fashion crime worthy of a life sentence’, however Varian begged to differ.)

“Hey beautiful. Hope you’re okay with blueberry pancakes. They’re the only breakfast food I can cook, and as a poor college student, I can’t afford a toaster, so these were the only option.” He elaborated as he placed the tray on a desk pressed against a wall. A desk with a silver cage on, housing a tiny, gold furred mouse. Hugo sauntered over with Varian’s plate and cup, handing it to him.

“Wow, your rat matches you.” he commented, a smug grin on his face as he shuffled up into a seating position to take a sip from his coffee. He set it aside on the bedside table and dug into his pancakes, moaning as he took his first bite. “Holy shit Hugo, where did you learn to cook like this? It’s perfect!”

“Darling, I was blessed with impeccable culinary skills from birth. Isn’t that right, Livi?” he glanced over at the mouse, who let out a little squeak as he sat on the bed beside Varian, placing a kiss to his temple before beginning to eat. “Her name’s Olivia. The mouse, I mean. I’ve had her for a few months, but she’s a darling.” he explained as he began to eat his pancakes, letting his boyfriend cuddle against him. Hugo bit his lip gently as his eyes caught sight of the purple bruises across Varian’s neck and collarbone, his cheeks gaining a deep red tint to them.

“Makes sense. Also, you wanna explain the weird obsession with green? I swear, the amount of green I’ve seen here..you could have your own episode of My Strange Addiction!” he laughed before his gaze met Hugo’s now-solemn expression. “Shit, Hugh I’m sorry if I upset you, I didn’t-”

“It’s fine. First off, I have an aesthetic to uphold and I’m not giving it up for anything. And..well, where I grew up..it was called Pittsford. Worst place in the world. Very economically divided. It uh..I grew up in the poor part of town, which was all just mines and vendors. All of the parks and greenery were in the higher class parts..parts we weren’t allowed in as ‘filthy, lower-class peasants’. As soon as me and Donella moved here, there was so much green everywhere...so much grass and so many trees...I couldn’t get enough! I fell in love with the color, hence why it’s everywhere. I just don’t want to not see it again.” he finished, glancing over at Varian. “Sob story, right? Sorry for bringing down the mood.”

Varian smiled sadly, reaching up to turn his boyfriend’s head in his direction. “I think it’s a cute quirk. I’ll be sure to wear more green.” He stated, defining every word before placing a soft, loving kiss to Hugo’s lips, cupping his cheek. 

“Oh no you don’t! Green is my color!” Hugo declared as he leaned down, pushing his boyfriend back against the pillows and peppering kisses all over his face before proceeding to kiss his lips again. Slowly but surely, it got more intense between them, with Hugo’s hands moving to slide up Varian’s shirt and fingers danced across the skin beneath it before Varian broke the kiss. “We should-” he tried to catch his breath, panting and breathing heavily, “we should take this slower, okay?” 

“Fine by me, hairstripe!” he smiled, removing his hands and standing. He gathered some clothes from his closet. “Don’t mind me, I’m going to have a shower, alright?” he asked, watching as Varian nodded.

“Hey Hugo?” Varian spoke, Hugo with one foot out the door as he turned on his heel to look at the boy in his bed. He looked adorable with bedhead. Hugo should invite him to stay the night more often, he noted. “Does uh..does this make us boyfriends?”

Hugo shrugged. “I don’t mind. Do you want us to be?” He asked, Varian immediately replying with a frantic nod of approval. With a wicked grin, Hugo strode over and lowered himself onto one knee. “Okay then, Varian Ruddiger! Would you do me the pleasure of becoming my boyfriend?” He proclaimed, taking Varian’s hands in his own. 

“You’re such a dork.” The other replied, though the smile on his face spoke volumes to what he was truly thinking about the scene in front of him. “But yes, I shall become your boyfriend, Hugo Atkinson. Now go enjoy your shower! You need it!”

Hugo shoved Varian as he laughed hysterically and gathered his clothes in his arms again. He took one last look at the teen before he strolled down to the bathroom across the hall. He ran the water and leaned back against the door, resting his hand over his mouth to hide his ridiculously wide smile. Wow. Varian was his boyfriend. Varian Ruddiger was his boyfriend. He couldn’t help the bubbly feeling that took over his body as he trailed his hand through his hair. He really was the luckiest guy in the world. 

Varian let out a little giggle and fell back against the pillows again, stunned into silence. He really was dating the biggest nerd in the world, huh? And the best thing was..he couldn’t be happier. Everything was looking up for him - thanks to his and Eugene’s argument, him and the boy he loved were finally together. 

He swung his legs over the bed to find he’d slept in the same clothes he wore yesterday, cringing slightly. No wonder he was so uncomfortable. There was no way he was borrowing Hugo’s clothes either - those things would dwarf him if he even attempted to wear them. That thought didn’t stop him, however, from sneakily taking a green hoodie from the closet, the Corona High symbol on the arm. He pulled it on and walked through the apartment. 

Despite how small it was, he loved the place. It was so Hugo - every inch of it felt exactly like his boyfriend had decorated it. Huh, boyfriend. The thought made the corners of his lips twitch up in a ghost of a smile. It sounded right - like it was meant to be used to describe Hugo and only Hugo. However, one thing that shocked him was the significant lack of pictures. The only thing that came close were framed movie posters, the rest being newspaper headlines and neon green sticky notes which, upon closer inspection, had questions on various topics about engineering. He’d have to buy him some frames and take more pictures when they went out - that way Hugo would have more to hang on the walls.

His eyes passed over the shelves against the wall, filled to the brim with books on engineering, chemistry, physics and biology. He took one out and skimmed through the pages. They seemed very outdated and old - so most likely a hand-me-down. Maybe they were from that Donella woman he kept bringing up? Anyhow, he slid the book back into place on the shelf and continued his journey down the hall to the living room.

As he passed a mirror in the hallway, he caught sight of purple bruises littered around his neck and collarbones. Oh my god, Eugene was going to kill him-

Oh shit.

Eugene.

He dashed into the living room and searched frantically for his phone, finding it on the glass coffee table alongside the coffee cups they’d discarded last night in favour of more..engaging activities. He picked it up and checked the home screen. Thirteen missed calls from Eugene, ten from Rapunzel. He was in trouble next time he saw them, he thought.

“V?” Hugo’s voice called through the apartment as he entered the room, his eyebrow raised as he tied his hair back. “You alright there, dollface?” he asked, walking to his boyfriend and wrapping his arms around his waist from behind. “Are you okay?” He enquired yet again, placing a gentle kiss to the junction between Varian’s collarbone and neck. 

“Hugh, we’re in trouble.” He said simply, showing Hugo the screen. The other boy’s eyes widened and he stepped back. “Shit, V.” he chewed his bottom lip in thought before slumping onto the couch. “I uh...how about you send them the address and...and we can all try and talk it out?” he reasoned.

Varian gulped and pressed ‘Call’ under Rapunzel’s contact, joining his boyfriend on the sofa and letting himself be pulled into yet another embrace by the taller male. It rang. One...two..three times before a frantic voice came through on the other end.

“Varian Ruddiger, we have been worried SICK about you!” she declared through the phone, the boy in question pulling the device away from his ear slightly and wincing. “Where are you? Are you okay? Please tell me you’re safe-”

“Rapunzel, I’m fine. I just...I need to talk to you. And Eugene. At Hugo’s apartment. I’ll send through the address just...please. I need you to hear us out. To hear me out.” he sighed and leant back against him, his head resting on the other teen’s chest who proceeded to play with his hair.

A long silence came from the other end of the phone before a sigh came through. “Okay.” she said, finally, “Send it through and we’ll be there as soon as possible. I love you, Varian.” 

“I love you too, Rapunzel.” He said softly, hanging up and sending the address of Hugo’s apartment to his sister, letting out a breath he didn’t even realise he’d been holding in. Now all that was left to do was wait, he thought as Hugo held him in his arms.

God, he hoped this went well.


	6. Lingering Sweetness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The family finally meets up to talk about the elephant in the room.

It didn’t take long for Eugene and Rapunzel to show up at the door, the rapping fists on the door interrupting the particularly heated make out session Hugo and Varian were only just starting to engage in. Hugo moved from where he was seated between Varian’s legs and made his way to the door, yawning as he unlocked the main door to the apartment. A purple blur passed him as soon as the door opened, instantly running and wrapping its arms around Varian, who had only just stumbled his way into the hallway. 

“Varian, we were so worried about you all night!” Rapunzel cried, her fingers running through his hair and holding him as if he’d turn to dust if she let go of him. His arms proceeded to wrap around her to exchange the hug she’d initiated. “Oh, by the way, I’m Rapunzel and this is my fiance, Eugene. It’s a pleasure to meet you, uh…”

“Hugo.” he stated quickly, confusing Varian. Why did he sound so tense? Oh. From over his sister’s shoulder, he could see the staring battle his boyfriend and brother were currently very invested in. He kinda figured it would be tense - but not THAT tense..he decided he had to do something to break up their battle as fast as he could. 

“Guys, we need to talk.” he finally declared, swallowing thickly. The two men finished up their silent battle as they were led by the smaller boy into the quaint living room. He took a seat on the couch, taking his boyfriend’s hand and pulling him down to sit by him as Eugene and Rapunzel took a seat on the other, much to Eugene’s distaste. His hands shook as he kneaded them in his lap silently, his gaze on the floor. How could he start this? He knew what he wanted to tell his brother and sister but...he didn’t know how to word it whatsoever. 

“I’m uh...does anyone want a drink?” Hugo asked, standing up awkwardly as everyone nodded in agreement. He scurried to the kitchen after getting the orders - coffee for him and Fitzherbert, green tea for Rapunzel and of course, a vanilla latte for Varian. Rapunzel was lucky he even had tea in proximity of his apartment - sometimes he drank it before bed to help with stress. Nonetheless, he began with preparing the drinks.

Was it always going to be this tense between all of them? Eugene and his wife seemed like lovely people (well, as lovely as she could be after their first meeting has been Eugene yelling at his boyfriend), but they really didn’t hide their distaste with the situation. Maybe it was just him overthinking it all. After all, they were his boyfriend’s family and all he wanted was for them to like him. He bit his lip and sighed, finishing his work on the drinks and carrying them into the living room.

“Thank you!” Rapunzel, ever the literal bundle of sunshine, called out as she graciously took her tea from Hugo and had a sip. “This is perfect!” she declared, shuffling back into her seat as an awkward silence preceded her words. Yet again, Varian was left to try and figure out everything he desperately wanted to say or more specifically, how to word it. He felt his breathing and heart rate quicken as the anxiety started to build. What if they didn’t like Hugo? What if he wasn’t allowed to see the other boy again? What if-What if-

“I’m sorry.” Eugene’s voice echoed through the apartment, plain as day, as he looked over at his brother-in-law. “I was wrong to say no one can change - as me and you are prime examples of that. But you have to understand that I was so...scared of you being hurt since you didn’t show up to dinner, and I immediately assumed you were in danger. It didn’t help that your boyfriend just so happens to be a pickpocket, so it’s...kinda hard to let that slide.” 

“Actually, redeemed pickpocket! I don’t do that anymore.” Hugo interjected, curling into himself as Eugene shot a glare in his direction. “Sorry.”

“Anyway, what I was saying before I was oh so rudely interrupted .” He cast another glare in Hugo’s direction, prompting Varian to chuckle. “I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. It wasn’t fair and...ridiculously hypocritical. So...I’m sorry.”

Varian rose to his feet, walking over to him and wrapping his arms around his brother in a tender embrace. He stepped back and locked eyes with Eugene. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have left you in the dark about the sudden change of plans or just left the car like that. I should’ve handled it more maturely, but in the heat of the moment, I panicked and just did the first thing that came to mind. So Eugene..I forgive you, and I’m sorry too.” He finished with a smile, bringing Eugene back into the embrace they had previously started. They stood like that for a moment - just content to be in each other’s company, before Rapunzel broke the silence.

“As cute as you two are, which is extremely by the way, your dad is worried sick so we should probably get you home.” she commented, standing and walking to Hugo. “Thank you for letting him stay here last night.” Hugo raised a hand to silence her, a smile on his face as he confirmed to her that it really wasn’t a problem and Varian was a pleasure to have in his company. He shot a wink in his boyfriend’s direction, relishing in the blush that formed on his cheeks and breaking out into laughter when the younger boy punched his arm.

As they headed towards the door, Varian turned and quickly wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. His head rested on his chest, just below his chin, and his boyfriend pulled him flush against his chest. His locks were twirled around Hugo’s nimble fingers before he pulled out of the hug, gazing up at the man who looked at him with nothing but love in his eyes. He really didn’t want to leave him again, just wanting to relive the night before with the boy he loved, but he guessed things didn’t work that way. “I’m gonna miss you.” he forced out.

“I’ll text you later, darling.” the blonde muttered, placing a tender kiss to his forehead after pushing his fringe out of his face. With one last embrace, Hugo headed downstairs with the others and leant in the doorway with a saddened smile as Varian walked away with Rapunzel. He was going to miss the boy so much. But wait. Upon closer examination, he only saw two heads. So where was...-a hand grasped his arm and pulled him aside in the doorway, brown eyes meeting his confused ones. Ah. So that’s where Eugene was. Interesting. The grip on his arm was akin to a clamp, making his arm go progressively more numb as it persisted. However, he had to make a good impression, he kept telling himself. “Can I help you, Fitzherbert?”

“Okay first off it’s Eugene. Second of all, I’m sure you’re smart enough to know what I’m about to tell you...but if you break his heart, I will get you arrested for your previous crimes without remorse.” Eugene frowned, leaning forward and placing his hands on Hugo’s shoulders. “I don’t think you’re a bad guy, but Varian’s been through a lot. I would say ‘ hurt him and I’ll break your kneecaps’ but, to be honest..if you broke his heart, Varian would probably have that department covered on his own. The kid’s freakishly strong. Anyway. He’s just...he’s my little brother and I never want to see him broken-hearted over some stupid boy. Capiche?” 

“Okay, Fitzherbert. I’ve got it loud and clear.” Hugo replied, rolling his eyes in response to the brunette’s rambling. A sigh of relief passed through his lips as the brunette finally stepped away and gave him some air. It wasn’t as tense as he thought it would be, if he was being honest...he thought the man would be more stern with him...oh well. At least it was over now!

“Didn’t I just tell you to call me Eugene?” he commented, though the grin on his face told Hugo that Eugene didn’t really care. “Anyway, kid. Nice meeting you. Sorry we got off on the wrong foot.” He added before waving and walking away to the car, Hugo heading in the opposite direction to go back up to his apartment. 

So! He’d just met the family! It went...better than he’d expected in all honesty. If Donella cared about his life other than school, she’d probably have given Varian a hard time. She was like a mother to him, if a mother was cold, uncaring and only kept you because you were smart and could make her more money. That was another thing. He’d have to make sure Donella and Varian never met. If Varian met that woman...boy howdy, that would be interesting. He pushed the thought away, unlocking the door to his apartment, ready to start his homework for today.

Meanwhile, the raven haired boy moved into the back of the car (Eugene had called it ‘Maximus’ as soon as he got it, Varian finding it kind of dumb.) while Rapunzel took her seat on the passenger's side. They shut the doors once they were both settled, Rapunzel immediately turning back to face him with a smile.

“So! Your boyfriend seems nice!” She began to say, leaning forwards in her chair as she spoke. “I mean, you sure know how to pick them! I saw all of the books he has are about engineering and all that, which is honestly very interesting. Also there’s an abnormal amount of green in there. Not that it’s a problem, but it’s just a random observation I made! You should invite him to dinner next week. Anyway, back to what I said, he seems really nice!” 

“I..yeah. He is. He’s really sweet once you get to know him.” He added shyly, a small blush appearing on his cheeks. Hugo really was a sweet guy if he wanted to be - always checking on Varian after his classes and messaging him on a night to help him sleep better. Sure, he was confrontational with Nuru and LOVED to tease her, but he knew it was all in good fun. He loved the girl, really.

“Tell me a little bit about him, then! I want to know all about how you two lovebirds met.” She giggled excitedly and looked directly at him with an eagerness he’d grown to love. Sometimes she could be such a hopeless romantic - but she just wanted everyone to find their new dream, as she put it. He didn’t get that, but he ignored that in favour of telling her the story of his and Hugo’s first meeting.

“Well, I was walking back from my classes and there was a really bad snowstorm. At first I thought I could make it home before it got any worse, but after time I decided to duck into the first store I could find - a coffee shop. I took a seat at a booth by the window and Hugo came over asking to sit by me as every other table was full. I obliged and he bought me a drink to say thanks. We talked for hours about chemistry and engineering, until eventually he had to leave. But he wrote his number down on a napkin and when I got home, we texted all night! He even asked me out again for Thursday so, of course, I said yes.” 

“On Thursday, we met up at the coffee shop again in the same booth and kept on talking and talking. Hell, Rapunzel, we almost kissed..and I think he just..he’s the loveliest guy in the world, well - to me he is..and I just desperately wish that you and Eugene like him too.” He finished, a soft smile on his face at the memories.

Rapunzel bit her lip and smiled widely. “Varian, I’m happy you’ve found your dream, although you might wanna hide those before Eugene gets in the car if you want your boyfriend to survive this week.” she added, gesturing to Varian’s neck. He hastily pulled up the hood of Hugo’s hoodie and bit his lip, nodding in agreement just as the brunette got into the car. He desperately averted eye contact, finding the touch screen in the car VERY interesting in his embarrassed state. 

“Alright kiddo. Let's get you back home.” Eugene uttered under his breath, starting the car and driving down the road. Varian averted his gaze to Hugo’s apartment building, committing it to memory as they slowly drove away. He wouldn’t mind living there with his boyfriend, he pondered, watching the building gradually get smaller and smaller till he could no longer see it. The apartment was scarily small, but that didn’t bother him. It was homey, and reflected Hugo’s personality so well with how it was laid out, organised and even decorated, a unique spin on every room, despite it all being mostly green. 

He continued to stare out of the window as they drove, lost in thought. He’d never felt this way about anyone in his life before. He remembered Eugene used to say that as soon as he laid eyes on Rapunzel he knew he’d ‘found his new dream’, whatever that meant. But Varian was sure he’d felt a spark when him and Hugo met. Something strong. Was that what Eugene had been talking about? That he just knew he’d end up marrying Rapunzel one day? Either way, Varian knew that, whatever it was, he wanted more from Hugo. So much more.

Twenty minutes later, the car had stopped and he opened the door. After shutting it, he trekked up the path to his house, jumping up the steps. He turned back, gazing at Rapunzel and Eugene, the pair giving him a reassuring thumbs up as he let out a deep breath and opened the door in front of him.

Immediately, he was met with the sight of his father, his arms folded and a disappointed look on his face. He seemed to be furious despite his mostly neutral expression as he looked down at his son. Varian bit the inside of his chin. Looked like he wasn’t getting off the hook this time.

“You’re grounded.” Quirin stated, point blanc. No sugar-coating, no ‘are-you-okay?’, none of that. Just straight up. Grounded. A frown crept his way onto his face as he stared up at his dad in silence. 

“I-really, dad? You’re never even home to ground me!” He responded, rolling his eyes as he moved towards the staircase to head upstairs. The giant figure of his father blocked the way, stepping in front of it and grabbing his shoulders. 

“You-Okay so, your mother left and I’m trying to support both of us, which we both knew would include me taking extra shifts! The one night I’m home this week, I get frantic calls from Rapunzel and Eugene telling me you weren’t around theirs for dinner - where I thought you were, and then hours later that you’d just-wandered off into the night! And you expect to not be punished for that?” He exclaimed, his stoic expression replaced with one of anger, gradually building up the more his son argued. “Who even is this boy anyway?” 

“He’s just a friend alright? God, just-I’m sorry I wanted to spend time with friends instead of being here alone all night! I just wanted a damn break!”

“Are you sure it’s ‘just a friend’? And what the hell is that on your neck?!” Quirin pulled the boy closer and his eyes widened when he saw the purple bruises scattered all over his son’s neck and throat. “‘Just a friend’? Care to explain how in the hell you got these then?” he gripped his son’s wrist in a harsh hold.

“Let go of me, dad!” Varian stuttered out, tears threatening to roll down his cheeks.

“No, Varian Ruddiger! You explain this to me right n-”

“LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!” Varian screamed out as he shoved his dad aside into the wall and stormed up the stairs, slamming the door behind him and sitting at his desk. He groaned and rubbed his eyes to try and brush away the tears building in them. His dad was never around anyway so why the hell would he care what he was doing and who he was with? He was happy, goddamnit. And now he couldn’t go out and meet his boyfriend for god knows how long...he let out a frustrated groan and pulled out his phone, Ruddiger jumping to sit in his lap as he pressed on Hugo’s contact.

**Varian : Heya. I’m officially grounded so...dates may have to wait**

**Hugo : =((**

**Hugo : Bold of you to assume that’s gonna stop me from seeing my handsome boyfriend <3 **

**Varian : Im serious, Hugh. I don’t want you to get in trouble**

**Hugo: mmmmmm okay then sweetie pie.**

Varian shut off his phone, placing it in a drawer in his desk and shutting it before resting his head on the desk. Oh well, at least now he had some time to start his chemistry homework. He reached into his bag and pulled out the various different sheets along with a textbook, likely weighing a tonne. He dropped it all onto the desk in front of him, opening it and skipping to the appropriate pages. With a deep sigh, he began to work.

Sitting in his room alone and trying to do his homework was a particularly stressful task when all he could think about was how the blonde’s arms had wrapped around him the night before. How nice it had felt to be in his arms, how bitter his lips had tasted as they’d kissed...he just wanted to see the boy again. He was addictive. Everything about him was. From his laugh to the way he’d make Varian flush with even the slightest of touches. He needed to see that boy again. Just as that thought appeared, the sound of rocks clinking against his window broke him out of his trance. He strode over and saw Hugo, a wide smile on his face and a mass of pebbles in his arms. 

“Hey hairstripe!” he called out, beginning to climb up the side of the wall - using the lattice his dad had installed countless years ago. Hastily, Varian opened the window and allowed his boyfriend to enter his room. “I know you’re gonna yell at me, but I had to see you again-” Hugo started, Varian kissing him to shut him up. 

“My dad will kill you if he finds out you’re in here. I’m not even kidding.” Varian whispered, loud enough for the other boy to hear. Hugo seemingly didn’t care, lifting his boyfriend into the air and pushing him against the wall. He trailed kisses along his neck, leaving light bites as he did. Varian’s hand rose to his mouth, him biting it harshly to prevent himself from moaning. God, Hugo knew how to kiss. “Hugo, I’m being serious-”

“Hi being serious, I’m Hugo.” he replied smugly, moving to place a kiss on his boyfriend’s lips as he cringed at the terrible joke. “Relax, Varian. He won’t know I’m here. And before you ask, Nuru let me know your address so I could surprise you. I just had to see you again, y’know?” he tilted his head cutely before placing his boyfriend on the floor and laying on his bed. “Nice place, by the way. Though, I’m seeing a distinctive lack of green..”

“Oh shut up, green can’t be everyone’s color.” Varian rolled his eyes in response before joining his boyfriend on the bed, resting his head on his chest and tracing circles on it with his finger. This was nice - it being just them. He closed his eyes, content in the moment before Hugo stirred beside him. “What?”

“You wanna talk about what happened with your dad, or is that a strictly ‘you-and-him’ kind of situation?” Hugo looked down at his boyfriend, an eyebrow quirked up with a concerned expression on his face. God, he loved this boy so much.

“Well, he grounded me, as you know. And he saw my neck, no thanks to you.” Varian began. “He kinda...figured out we weren’t just ‘besties for life going and spending a night at one another’s apartment for a game of smash ultimate’” 

“Yikes. Sounds like he thought you were looking for a different kind of smash.” Hugo joked, Varian’s face contorting into a look of utter betrayal as he stared at the boy above him. Never mind. He took it all back. The dad joke was hard enough to deal with, but this? This was crossing a line. 

“Oh, shut up.” He muttered, rolling his eyes and trying to suppress a laugh at Hugo’s betrayed expression. He could be so funny sometimes. Only sometimes though. The thought made him chuckle slightly.

Hugo retaliated by pulling Varian into his lap with a wicked smirk on his face, peaking Varian’s excitement. “How about you make me shut up, hairstripe?” He challenged as his fingers dug into Varian’s waist, only adding to the pure excitement he was feeling at the moment. Varian murmured ‘with pleasure’ before leaning down and locking lips with his boyfriend in a passionate and rough kiss.

One of Hugo’s hands moved to the back of his head, the other squeezing Varian’s waist to ground him while he was on cloud nine. The younger boy’s hands rested on his boyfriend’s chest as he took in the taste of blueberry in the blonde’s mouth, exploring it contently. His hands twisted the cloth he was gripping, before they both let the kiss slow down, fading into small pecks on the lips and little giggles. 

After a while, Hugo propped himself up on his elbows and gazed into the other boy’s eyes. He shook his head, seemingly to clear it before clearing his throat with a smile on his face. “I’m gonna give you a choice. So, we can either stay here for tonight..or I can take you out to where I originally intended.” he said, sitting up and looking down at Varian. His raven locks fell into his face, Hugo promptly fixing it by tucking that hair behind his ear. “I don’t mind either way.”

Varian thought for a moment. A night out would get him into way more trouble. But only if he got caught. It was risky as hell too. What if they didn’t get back before Quirin went back to work? He glanced down at Hugo’s face again and smiled. It would be one hell of a risk, but he did wanna spend time with his boyfriend…screw it. What did he have left to lose?

“Alright. Let’s go.” he decided, sitting up and packing his bag with essentials. With a nod of confirmation, they began their journey to leave the house. Hugo climbed out of the window before he did, Varian joining him soon after. As he reached the bottom of the lattice, Hugo grabbed his waist to steady him as he stumbled forward. A smirk appeared on the blonde’s face, barely visible in the low lighting they were now exposed to. He took a second to place a kiss to the taller boy’s lips before they both headed off into the night, hand in hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I say this every update, but thank you for all your support! I appreciate every bit of it!


	7. On Top Of The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hugo keeps his word and takes Varian out on a date, meeting an unexpected couple along the way.

Moonlight paved the way for them as they walked through the darkened streets of Corona, still holding each other’s hands. Varian’s infectious laughters rang out and disturbed the darkness of night as Hugo told yet another terrible joke. Hugo joined in the sympathy of laughter, giving his boyfriend’s hand a small squeeze and resting his head against the others. At least it was his day off - now he had all the time in the world to spend with the younger teen and, as he looked down at Varian, he swore he could see the whole universe in his eyes. A little sigh left his mouth, happiness forming butterflies in his stomach and bubbling there. 

He knew he was thinking way too far ahead (after all, they’ve only been together for a day) but all he wanted to do was to keep Varian forever. He knew he’d never have enough of the boy and he could never have enough of the boy. He was unique in the best way possible - with his buckteeth that still retained even now, despite his insistence they’d go away by senior year when they were freshmen, his little nervous chuckle he’d give when he said a joke followed by a little snort, the small blue streak that sat so defined against the mass of black hair on his head and stuck out amongst the rest. Stunning, Hugo thought. Absolutely stunning. Hugo’s train of thought was derailed by Varian’s voice finally speaking up.

“So, where are we going then?” Varian finally questioned, his eyes glancing up at the blonde with an excited smile on his face, “You’ve been awfully cryptic about this ‘date’ and usually you’re gushing about your ideas the whole time, so care to enlighten me to the madness of your mind?” Hugo’s breath hitched. Should he tell his boyfriend about his plans or should he keep it under wraps? One glance at Varian’s puppy dog eyes made the guilt well in his stomach and he decided, screw it, he’d have to tell the boy now. Goddamn that adorable face!!

“So, you know how it’s Christmas time? And usually the park puts up all these pretty lights that seem way too excessive? I’m gonna take you there. We can talk or buy some food or just relax and cuddle while we look at the stars. Whatever you want to do.” Hugo said with a smile, looking down at his boyfriend who, by now, had a wide smile on his face. It was a sight for sore eyes, seeing the boy’s eyes light up and look at Hugo as though he’d put the stars in the sky. It looked perfect against his scarlet cheeks from the bitter breeze and December weather. Hugo decided, in that moment, that he wanted to be the one to put that look on his face each and every time it graced his features.

“That sounds perfect Hugh. But first, I have to ask that we make a stop.” He requested, not even waiting for an answer for the other before moving in front of him to pull his boyfriend along. He tugged his arm and pulled him along the pitch black streets. Well, now it’s time for Varian to be mysterious about his plans, Hugo thought as he was tugged along by the boy of his dreams at 10pm at night. That was a sight he could get used to, the dark haired boy leading him to god knows where. No one else but them around.

It was almost unbelievable, really. A guy like him really didn’t deserve Varian - what, with all the bad things he’d done in his life. It wasn’t fair that he was keeping Varian oblivious to everything he’d done in his past and was doing now, especially after he’d opened up to him only the night before, but...Varian didn’t deserve to be dragged into his mess. They were his mistakes to clean up and he’d do it by himself. Maybe one day he’d confess all his problems and mess ups to his boyfriend, but now wasn’t time. He couldn’t risk losing the boy. Not now, not ever. 

“Okay, here we are!” Varian declared proudly, stopping in front of a building. It took Hugo a moment to adjust and steady himself before he realised where they were: the infamous coffee shop. The thing that had brought them together. A small smile tugged at the corners of Hugo’s lips as he was, once again, pulled around and into the warmth of the store. It ran through his body like a rush of pure ecstasy and a pleased groan left his lips. As he looked around, he found it was virtually empty, except for a raven haired woman and her unusually silver haired girlfriend sitting at a table. One who Varian immediately recognised and called out to, running over to her with his hand leaving Hugo’s. The older groaned at the lack of his boyfriend’s warmth, walking over towards the counter to order their drinks - a vanilla latte for Varian and a black coffee for him. 

“Cass!” Varian called out when he ran over, pulling the older woman into an embrace and closing his eyes. He relished in the warmth of his friend - it being a stark contrast to his body temperature, which felt sub-zero. He’d missed her so much since the...awkward dinner from over a week ago. A little noise of shock left Cass’ lips as she was virtually caged in a tight embrace on par with Rapunzel’s death grip. Little chuckles escaped from the woman accompanying Cass, before it broke out into loud laughter. She threw her head back, almost falling out of the chair as she did so. “Oh, who’s this?” 

“Varian, meet my girlfriend, Irene. Irene, this is Varian.” Cass explained, her hands gesturing to the pair, a wide smile on her face. Oh, so this was Irene! She seemed lovely, piercings littering her ears which were almost covered by her curly locks falling over them. Freckles were dotted all over her face and hands, where a small, rose gold ring sat on one of her fingers. It was beautiful - diamonds embedded into the design which was bent into an infinity shape. A rose winter coat covered most of her figure, jet black leggings covering and protecting her legs from the chill outside. On her feet were some matching boots - heels giving her a little bit of extra height. She was really beautiful, Varian thought, as the woman put her mocha down and held out her hand. 

“Oh, you must be Rapunzel’s little brother. I’ve heard so much about you from Cass, Eugene and Rapunzel. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the infamous Varian Ruddiger!” she commented, a slight accent ringing through as she spoke that Varian couldn’t quite place. It was beautiful though - albeit a little unrecognisable. Still, he eagerly shook her hand, happy to finally meet the woman. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too!” he declared, Hugo sauntering over and standing beside him. “Cass, Irene, this is my boyfriend, Hugo. And Hugo, this is Cassandra and her girlfriend, Irene.” he turned to face his boyfriend with a smile, pecking his lips and taking the vanilla latte from him with a hum of thanks. He sipped it and let the taste fill his mouth. Yep, he’d never get bored of that heavenly flavour, he’d associated it with Hugo by now. The taste of it brought back all their recent memories of dates and endless joy when around the boy. It brought a flush to his cheeks as he smiled and continued to take little sips.

“Oh, the pleasure’s all yours.” Hugo commented with a grin, laughing at the push he’d received in return from his tiny boyfriend. “Ow! Jesus Christ, hairstripe, I’m holding a coffee!” he laughed and leaned against the boy contently. “Jokes aside, V never shuts up about you. My theory is he has a shrine dedicated to you somewhere with how much he loves you.” Hugo whispered, much to Varian’s annoyance as evident by the eye rolls and folded arms. 

“Noted. So, how did you two meet then?” She asked, Varian willingly indulging her in the ‘dramatic love story of Varian and Hugo the star crossed lovers’, as Hugo had put it. A smile crept onto her face as she watched the two boys interact, her arm looping around her  fiancée . He really had found his soulmate, hadn’t he? She kept her eyes on the boy as he rambled on and on about every little detail. She’d never seen Varian this happy in his life, Hugo attentively listening with a ghost of a smile curling on his lips. They both clearly loved each other, she decided, as Irene shuffled in closer to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. 

It has been four years since she met Irene, three since she asked her to be her girlfriend and exactly one week, four hours and twenty-seven minutes since she had proposed to her. She loved her unconditionally - Irene being the one to support her after her breakdown and crime spree in Corona and helping to put her back on the right path. Irene was all she could’ve ever asked for in a partner: kind, loving, understanding of her past...she was simply divine in every single way. And from the way Hugo looked at Varian, she could tell that he felt the same way as she did when she met Irene - happy beyond compare. It was adorable in her eyes - from the way they had met to their dynamic and how they seemed to compliment each other. Where Varian was shy, Hugo was confident. Varian easily responded to Hugo’s sarcasm and (terrible) jokes. It was a sweet sight to behold.

“As honoured as I am to have met you, me and Varian have a date to attend so..alas, we shall have to depart.” Hugo called out, dramatising every word with the back of his hand pressed against his forehead and his back pressed against Varian’s right arm. Varian just scoffed, shoving his boyfriend off his and shuffling out of the booth to stand. “Ow. A loving display from my beloved boyfriend. I can’t believe it!” Hugo gasped before standing beside Varian, reaching up to ruffle his hair happily. 

Irene giggled, a welcome noise to Cass that just made her love the woman opposite her even more. “Aw, what a shame. You two are adorable and it was lovely to meet you!” she cheered happily, waving to them as they headed out of the store after saying their goodbyes. They sat in a comfortable silence before Irene spoke up, her eyes still gazing at the door. “He reminds me of you with the way he looks at Varian. It’s so full of love and affection...just like how you look at me.” She said, a smug grin on her face before taking her future wife’s scarred hand in hers and placing a gentle kiss against it. “It’s adorable. I think they’re cute.” 

“I know they’re cute.” Cass responded as she pulled her closer. “We should invite them to the wedding, y’know. They’d make great guests.” She commented as she leant back against the cushions decorating the booth. “My god, these are so comfy...I love it.” with a satisfied sigh leaving her mouth as her girlfriend cuddled into her. She could get used to this..maybe she should invite the boys over for Christmas.

After a few more minutes of walking, Hugo and Varian turned a corner and gasped in shock. Lights blazed like a thousand tiny suns from string lights in the park, hung from the trees along with small christmas decorations placed onto the trees. Varian grasped his boyfriend’s hands as they walked through the gates to the park and admired the beauty of the decorations. 

Snow began to fall from the sky as they walked hand in hand, Hugo pausing to remove his scarf and wrap it around his boyfriend’s neck in a kind gesture, Varian noting that it smelt like cinnamon and apple - similar to the smell of Rapunzel’s house in fall. He let out a contented sigh as he moved closer and closer to his boyfriend, neglecting to notice the snowflakes landing in his boyfriend’s hair and on the end of his slightly crooked nose. 

They passed decorations of reindeer, sleighs and toy soldiers in awe, linked hands and ran through illuminated arches in fits of laughter before eventually settling down on a bench with a perfect view of the lake in the centre of the pond. A hand snaked round Varian’s waist and he leant into his touch, resting his head in the crook of Hugo’s neck placing kisses to it. “Thank you so much, Hugo. All of this..it’s just been perfect.” he paused before adding in a whisper, “I love you so much, Hugo.” 

“I love you too, Varian.” he muttered as he pulled his boyfriend closer to him, gazing out at the lake with the other teen in his arms. He bit the inside of his chest, feeling his heart hammering against his ribcage as he took a small box out from his coat pocket. “Hey so..I know we haven’t been together long, but...Varian, I adore you. So I brought you this.” 

He handed a rectangular blue box to the other boy, tied with a green ribbon. With an eyebrow raised, Varian untied the ribbon and raised the lid. He was met with the sight of a necklace. The necklace in question had a vial the size of half of his pinky attached, filled with a teal liquid. He slowly raised it to his eyes, shaking it gently and gasping in wonder as it began to glow, casting a luminous blue light over anything in a one metre radius. It was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. He cast a glance over to see his boyfriend’s nervous face.

“You have no idea how long I had to research to make that liquid in the vial - I mean obviously I made the necklace myself, but I wanted to make it unique for my equally unique boyfriend. So...I added that luminous liquid into it! I..really hope you like this.” Hugo explained, rubbing the back of his neck and gripping the fabric of his coat tightly. “Please like it, please like it, please like it.” he silently pleaded as his eyes stayed fixed on his boyfriend, who was placing it around his neck with care. “So..what do you think?” he inquired.

He was knocked back into the bench, Varian peppering a billion kisses over his face while Hugo laughed and tried to push him off. Their lips met in a passionate kiss, filled with nothing but love as the snow fell around them. It was perfect - a moment that felt like it could be in the movies as they, for that one perfect moment, imagined it was only them left and everything else had fallen away.

The kiss eventually broke, Hugo squeezing his boyfriend’s hands with quite possibly the widest smile Varian had ever seen. “I should get you back, V. Just in case your dad tries to kill me if he finds out I snuck you out.” He uttered, rising to his feet and helping Varian stand too, his lips meeting his forehead. “You can keep the scarf too, by the way. It looks way better on you, love.”

“Thanks.” Varian whispered as they strolled back through the park, one arm linked with Hugo’s and the other fiddling with the vial around his neck. Hugo had really gone through all of that effort to make him a necklace by hand. He could feel himself falling deeper and deeper in love with the boy every second he thought about it, and at this point, he didn’t even want to stop falling in love with the amazing man walking beside him. He was so kind to him all the time, despite the way he acted around other people, and he cared so much about Varian regardless of how much he’d deny it. He really was everything Varian had ever wanted..huh.

Far too soon, they arrived back at Varian’s house. Standing on the drive, the boys silently said their goodbyes, placing kisses to each other’s lips with neither wanting to leave the other alone and be apart. Varian’s arms wrapped around Hugo’s neck and Hugo’s in turn around Varian’s, fleeting kisses becoming slow, deep and warm kisses after a few minutes while snow continued to rain down around them. 

“V, I’ve gotta go, love. You’re making it hard for me to go-”

“Well then, don’t go. Stay with me for tonight. My dad leaves before I wake up on a morning, so it's not as if he’ll be here tomorrow morning to see you’ve stayed. Just..please. I don’t want to be alone tonight.” Varian muttered, his hands trapping one of Hugo’s between them as he gazed up at him with desperation in his eyes. Hugo uttered a small string of curses under his breath, the offer truly tempting and, combined with the boy’s desperate expression, he finally gave in with a little nod. 

The two climbed the lattice, opening the window and entering trying to be as silent as possible. As Hugo turned to close the window, Varian changed into pyjamas and lay down on his bed to silently watch his boyfriend remove his coat and shoes. He looked so breathtaking even when doing normal things, something Varian truly couldn’t comprehend as the other boy moved methodically, folding the jacket and resting it on the desk. As he turned, he smirked at his boyfriend, who’s face flushed red and looked away. “See something you like?” he muttered as he moved to lay beside the raven haired boy.

“Maybe I do, what are you gonna do about it?” Varian challenged, letting Hugo pull him back into a kiss - however this one felt different to the rest. It told Varian everything Hugo wanted him to know without saying anything at all, filled with unspoken lust and passion towards him. His cheeks flushed as he let the older boy take control, a small whimper-like moan leaving his throat as the kisses trailed further down to his neck. “Hugo. Hey. We should get some sleep.” he muttered, however his legs wrapping around the blonde’s waist told him what he truly wanted.

“Alright, hummingbird.” the other whispered as he laid beside the younger boy, relenting and disregarding the lust bubbling in the bottom of his stomach. His arms wrapped around Varian’s waist, securing him in a tight hold as he nuzzled his face into his shoulder. “You’re so beautiful, love. So beautiful..” he muttered as he slowly drifted off to sleep. “Goodnight Varian, I love you..”

“I love you too.” The other murmured as he lay awake in his boyfriend’s embrace, though sleep was finally starting to catch up with him. Everything was perfect - he had the best boy in the universe sleeping beside him, his family (bar his dad) loved him and everything was going swimmingly. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel a storm was brewing. Nonetheless, he pushed the feelings aside as he let sleep take him far, far away, his boyfriend’s embrace being the last thing he remembered.

Quirin rubbed his face as he let out a groan. Disappointment was settling in as guilt twisted like a dagger in his chest. He hadn’t meant to be so harsh towards his son - he was just worried like any sane parent would be if their child just one day spontaneously didn’t show up to dinner with his brother and sister. He let out an exasperated sigh and began the trek upstairs, fully intending to apologise to Varian. 

He knew it had been hard for his son - the divorce from his mother having its toll on the boy along with his coma and involvement for the saporians before he’d even turned eighteen. But Quirin was trying to relate to his son, to mend the wounds that had formed between them, but it was difficult as hell when his son only saw him as strict. He just wanted what was best for him - even if he didn’t get it across to him in the best way. He loved the boy with all his heart - that's why he’d completely redecorated the basement of the house as a makeshift lab for this year’s christmas present, but they just had no common ground. He loved farming and the simple life, whereas his son loved alchemy and all things science. He was just like his mother, Quirin thought, with a soft chuckle leaving his throat. 

He knocked the door to his son’s room gently, pushing it open a crack to see two boys in the single bed in the faint light provided by the hallway. The stranger, a tall, blonde boy, was laying on his back fast asleep with an arm round Varian, whose head was resting on his chest and snoring. A soft smile crept onto Quirin’s face as the pair slept, resorting to closing the door as silently as he could. 

So this was the mystery boyfriend, Quirin thought, as he walked down the hall to his room with a smile on his face. The boy seemed nice enough, though there wasn’t much you could learn about someone while they were asleep. Nonetheless, he walked into his room and shut the door. He’d talk to Varian about it tomorrow, but for now he needed to get some sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey gamers! Chapter 7! I,,,,honestly can't believe we've got this far!  
> Just wanna say thank you all for all your support!


	8. What I've Been Looking For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Christmas time and Hugo is one grumpy guy, but Varian just wants his boyfriend to be happy!

A week had passed and it was finally Christmas - aka Hugo’s least favourite day of the year. Passing through his lips was a groan as he turned to his side on his bed, which was only a few bad days away from giving up on him completely. He felt around on the bedside table for his glasses, placing them on his face and laying back again, his head resting against the moss green pillows. Picking his phone up, he smiled at his phone screen - a photo of Varian at the library which was almost completely covered by the wall of text messages from said boyfriend. He let out a small sigh - his boyfriend absolutely adored Christmas, but...he didn’t get the appeal.

At the orphanage, Christmas wasn’t really celebrated at all, it being far too expensive to buy presents for all the kids there. The only real indication he’d had that it was the streets being decorated by a ridiculous amount of lights, a giant pine tree placed in the centre of town with a mass of baubles scattered amongst the branches. Ever after he’d left, living on the streets for a while and after Donella took him in, she’d never been caring enough to celebrate the holiday. In her eyes, it was a ‘useless, excessively capitalised holiday used to manipulate the poor into spending a mass of money at one time’ and ‘a waste of money’. It wasn’t that he didn’t agree, the holiday was vastly overrated and had turned into a way to swindle money from the poor, manipulating the true meaning, but it wouldn’t hurt to get him a gift one year. It could’ve been a small one or something work-related, he wouldn’t have minded, but he never got one. 

But that was the kind of woman Donella was, always cold and unfeeling towards everyone, including her son. Kind of. Did she even see him as her son? I mean-he’d always seen her as a mother to him, since she was the one to take him in, give him a home and a purpose...but that was because, in her eyes, he was a valuable asset. She’d only taken care of him, because she could get money from his skills. He knew that - she’d always been transparent about that fact with him - but there were plenty of instances where she’d contradicted herself. Where she’d actually cared. For example, when she’d brought him his jacket.

_ She’d initially shoved it into his chest, wrapped in a plastic bag with her usual scowl and folded arms greeting him as his eyes met hers in confusion. Her grey hair was perfectly kept, behind her back in a braid which left the scar on her chin on full display as it jolted up towards her lip. She’d never told him how she’d got it, but he had his theories. One of his most outlandish scenarios was trying to trap her old research partner in a magical library, her partner using magic and a knife to scar the skin (11-year-old him had a wild imagination, okay?). Her sickly green eyes held annoyance in every last nook and cranny as she examined the boy in front of her’s confused expression at the package that was thrust towards his chest. “Well, aren’t you going to see what’s inside? I don’t have all day to be standing around waiting for you, Hugo.” _

_ “Yes ma’am.” He replied hastily, hands fumbling as he unwrapped the bag and took out the cargo. It was a green jacket, a grey hood at the top of it. He raised it to his eyes and tilted his head quietly. It was a little bit, but he’d grow into it. The second thing he’d noticed was that it was really, really soft, like..absolutely amazingly soft. Like fur! He pulled the jacket’s sleeves over his arms, noting how they covered his hands completely, before he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. It was comfy - a childish grin covering his face as he looked up at his mentor, grateful for his gift. _

_ “Your clothes looked ratty,” she said, looking away and trying to suppress her soft smile with a hardened expression. “I got you new ones. Maybe now you’ll look even slightly presentable.” she slowly walked away, Hugo knowing her true intentions behind the present. He let out a small yet happy sigh, his hand trailing through his hair as he walked down the hall towards his workshop again. He’d have to thank her later, he noted as he pushed open the door. He guessed that all the thanks he could give would be finishing off this commission they’d been working on for the past week...that would satisfy her more than a gift or hug or anything. He hung the jacket up on a peg, sitting down on the leather stool by his desk before leaning over and getting to work.  _

Hugo sat up in bed, finally deciding to get up on this cursed day and standing. He stretched his legs and arms, walking to his desk to give Olivia her daily helping of sunflower seeds, which the mouse graciously accepted with a happy squeak. He yawned and grabbed some clothes from the closet, heading down the hall towards the bathroom for a shower, passing framed photos of him, his boyfriend and their friends along the way. They all got along just fine - them being Hugo, Varian, Nuru and Yong, however him and Nuru did have the occasional sarcastic quip aimed at each other, much to Varian’s annoyance. Despite the playful banter though, they got along well considering the short amount of time they’d known each other, with Varian always taking pictures so Hugo would have to ‘frame his memories’ and place them on the wall. It was sweet, especially how he’d exclusively picked frames that were painted green - a nice little detail that didn’t go unnoticed by Hugo. Still, it felt strange. He thought Varian’s dad had grounded him, so why was he allowed out so frequently to meet up? The thought weighed heavy in his mind, although it disappeared as he arrived at his final destination.

Varian sat up in his bed as soon as he’d woken up, a large smile on his face as he realised the day. “It's Christmas...It’s Christmas!” He yelled as he jumped up, startling the obese cat who was sleeping quite satisfied on his legs, curled up in a ball. The cat mewled and batted at Varian’s arms in response, the teen too excited to care as he threw open his door and sprinted down the stairs. He must’ve moved at the speed of sound, because he swore it only took him a few seconds to arrive in the kitchen, where his father stood preparing some hot chocolate and pancakes. He felt out of place in his teal pyjamas, but nonetheless he still took a seat at the table. “Good morning, Dad. Hey, that smells great!”

“Good morning to you too, son. And thank you.” he replied, placing the pancakes on a plate, picking it up in one hand and the hot chocolate in the other before setting it in front of his son. Varian wasted no time, swallowing it all down so fast, Quirin could’ve sworn he’d just inhaled the things. Chuckling at the thought, he moved and sat down beside his son. “So, we’re stopping off at Rapunzel’s for Christmas dinner aren’t we?” A nod of confirmation came from his son, who was sipping his hot chocolate. “Okay, will we be picking up your boyfriend on the way?”

Varian spat his hot chocolate out in shock at his father’s latter question. What? How did he know about Hugo? He’d never told him about the other boy before...maybe Rapunzel had told his father? No, she wouldn’t do that to him. Eugene? He scrapped that thought as soon as it came. Those two would never do that to him...would they?  _ “No Varian. You need to trust them.”  _ his inner voice reminded him. He composed himself as his eyes met his dad’s, who was quite obviously holding back his laughter. “I...how do you..know about him?”

“Remember the night I grounded you? Last Thursday? Yeah, that's how I know.” He explained nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair and sipping his hot chocolate quietly. “I went upstairs with the intent to apologise and saw you two fast asleep and cuddling. You both looked so peaceful that I didn’t want to intrude on your moment, so I left you be and wanted to wait until you were ready to tell me.” He suddenly leaned forward, taking his son’s hands in his own with a serious expression on his face. “Son, you know I love you no matter who you’re attracted to, whether it be boys or girls. You’re still my son and I love you unconditionally. So will your Aunt Adira and Uncle Hector. And we’ll support you no matter what. Although...it would have been nice to have a formal introduction with the boy, he seems very nice.”

A smile crept onto Varian’s face as he rose to his feet, moving around the titular table to embrace his father. “Thank you so much, dad. And yes, we will have to pick him up. I want him to celebrate Christmas - it’ll be his first time celebrating too, which makes it even more special!” he paused. “I’ll let you know where his apartment is. I have a present that I...desperately wanna give him.”

“Speaking of presents..” Quirin began, rising from his chair to look down at his son. “I haven’t given you yours yet. So, follow me.” He declared, leading the way towards the basement door. They hadn’t been down there since his mother left - it used to be her old workspace for anything science related. Varian used to love going down there and watching as Ulla would experiment, combining different elements in processes he didn’t even understand. Their son would watch in wonder as, with one ribbon of metal being added, an acid would change colour, and he’d cheer so loud with the biggest smile on his face whenever Ulla let him act as her ‘lab assistant’ and let him perform his own experiments (supervised, of course). 

He did miss the woman and her presence in the house. She brought so much joy to everything she passed, making even the worst of days become one of the best. It was because of her that they even celebrated Christmas, her introducing the holiday to him and the various traditions that came along with it. She really was a loving and caring woman in every way there possibly was - Varian taking after her in that department. She’d sing to their son to help him sleep as a newborn and sit by his crib all night in case he woke up in the night and needed her for anything. But they never saw the stress wearing her down, causing her to become more and more confrontational as the days went on. Hell, the divorce came out of nowhere, Ulla one day stating that she wanted one and was leaving. Nonetheless, Quirin had supported her and let her go, because she was the woman he loved. If that’s what she wanted then fine, he’d let her leave. He bit the inside on his cheek. No time to think of that - it was Christmas and by god, he was gonna enjoy himself.

The door to the basement opened and Quirin gestured for his son to go down the steps before him. Varian obliged, walking down the steps that threatened to break. They’d have to get them replaced one day, he thought as he reached the floor below and flicked on the lights. He was met with the sight of a truly magnificent sight. Tables were pushed up against the walls, a wheeled office chair placed under one. Beakers and a Bunsen burner sat on the side, beside a large stack of drawers that, upon closer inspection, were labelled and filled with all the equipment he needed, such as burets, test tubes, pipettes and micropipettes...it was simply breathtaking. He travelled further around the home lab, a coat peg in the corner with a single, white lab coat hanging from it. He immediately knew it was his mother’s from the small blue patch on the elbow of the left sleeve - a hole caused by 7-year-old him accidentally changing the Bunsen burner from the safety flame to the blue flame, his mom lunging over it to stop him from burning himself. After that, he was terrified of the burner for years after that. 

“Dad, this is...this is amazing!” he gasped, running over and giving him a tight hug. “Wow! I love it so much!” he cried as he moved away and excitedly explored the room even more. Pulling on the lab coat, he flattened the creases of the lab coat. A perfect fit, he thought, before he turned to his dad with a smile. “How is it? Do I look alright?”

“You look great son, but go upstairs and get dressed. We need to pick up your boyfriend and drive over to Rapunzel and Eugene’s house, okay?” He commented, watching his son’s excitement as he placed the lab coat back on the bed and sprinted upstairs. Quirin’s gaze drifted to the lab coat. He looked just like his mother in that lab coat, it was almost uncanny. He always thought about her this time of year and how much different life was without Ulla’s constant presence in the house. Nevermind,he muttered as he walked to the stairs, flicking off the lights and travelling up the stairs. It was in the past. Now, time to prepare himself to meet his son’s boyfriend.

Hugo sat on the couch, his arms folded and pouting. There was nothing on but stupid goddamn Christmas movies! He hated them! All they did was brag that they had everything he didn’t have, like a family or gifts..it sucked. He especially hated them as a kid, wishing every year that he’d get adopted and have that one day. He’d always imagined his mom being a tall, gentle woman, who’d pick him up and put him on the counter if he’d fallen over while playing, placing a gentle kiss to his wounds before covering them with a bandaid, giving him a hug and sending him off to play. He’d also imagined his dad - a stern, blonde haired man with a soft side, who would always make time for him and show him what he did for work. They’d have good paying jobs too - his dad being a mechanic for some high-class company and his mom being a nurse. He’d had it all planned out. Especially Christmas, where he’d run down the stairs to be greeted with the sight of endless towers of presents, hugging and kissing his parents on the cheek after each one. Instead, he’d been ‘blessed’ with Donella, who couldn’t care less about him or Christmas. No parents, no luxury life, no Christmas. She snuffed out his dream on the final one really quick, being the one to tell him Santa wasn’t real (even though he already knew that, but the confirmation hurt).

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed the sound of frantic knocking at the door to his apartment. “Who the hell is that?” he muttered under his breath as he sauntered down the hall. He ran his hands over his clothes, trying to flatten any creases that might be seen before opening the door. Varian stood, his hand raised as though he was about to knock the door again, with a goliath of a man behind him, causing Hugo to swallow thickly. Oh fuck was that man large. He could probably snap Hugo in half over his knee if he felt like it. ‘Please don’t call him dad, please don’t call him dad…’ Hugo found himself praying.

“Hugh!” his boyfriend cried as he lunged forward and wrapped his arms round the blonde’s neck, who was still in shock at the sight of the man accompanying the titular teen. “Dad, this is my boyfriend, Hugo! Hugo, this is my dad!” he explained. Brilliant. Now he knew if he ever broke up with Varian (“Pfft, as if that’s gonna happen.” his inner voice reminded him, yet again butting in rudely.), he’d be assured a quick death at the hands of this titan of a man crushing his skull.

“It's a uh-a pleasure to finally meet you, sir.” he finally stuttered out, trying to uphold his usual relaxed attitude, however judging by the crack in his voice, he’d failed miserably. He held out his hand, the older man exchanging his greeting and virtually concealing Hugo’s hand in his own, it being barely visible as it was shaken before being mercifully let go. “Why are you two here, by the way. In like-the politest way possible.”

“You’re spending Christmas with us! Speaking of which, we’re meant to be at my sister’s like-right now! So! Let’s go!” he grabbed his boyfriend’s arm, only giving him enough time to grasp his coat, which had Varian’s present concealed in it, and scarf before pulling him out of the apartment and down the stairwell to the street below. Hugo listened to Varian’s rambling about their christmas traditions which didn’t seem to stop even as they got to the car and were heading towards Rapunzel and Fitzherbert’s house. Speaking of which, he’d never seen it, the only conversation he’d had with them being the...rather awkward one the day he’d asked Varian out. What a wild day that had been...it felt like forever ago, if he was being honest. It didn’t seem real that they were together at all. He gave the raven haired boy’s hand a gentle squeeze, his thumb rubbing circles into the back of his hand with a smile tugging at his lips again. He really was helpless for this boy.

The car came to a halt outside a small cottage, very different to the one he had imagined the couple would live in. It was a surprise, albeit a pleasant one - what, a cottage out here in the middle of the countryside seemed like the best place to settle down. He just couldn’t believe someone like Fitzherbert would’ve settled for that. It admittedly looked kind of cute though, lights hung from the roof carefully and around the gate. Varian, however, gave him no time to admire the beauty of the cottage, grabbing his hand and pulling him through the white-painted fence and rushing up the steps before opening the front door. “We’re here, guys!” he declared and almost immediately they were swarmed by a mass of people.

The only four people he’d noticed were Rapunzel, Eugene, Cassandra and Irene, pulling them into hugs and exchanging Christmas greetings with each other. The other three he’d recognised as Kiera, Catalina and Lance from all of the stories Varian would tell him randomly during their dates, such as how Lance had adopted them after they were orphaned (“Lucky kids.” Hugo had muttered to himself bitterly before turning away and staring out the window again). Hugo winced and grimaced at the exchanges, awkwardly returning them before heading towards where he thought the living room was. 

Luckily, he was right, and he moved quickly to sit on the couch, immediately cringing at the sight of an excessively decorated and obviously fake Christmas tree sitting against the wall with a mass of presents underneath it. More reminders of the things he’d lacked all his life, he thought bitterly, before a warmth beside him broke him out of his thoughts. Varian cuddled into his boyfriend’s side, kissing his cheek gently with a soft, loving smile on his face. “Hey there, sweetheart..you enjoying yourself?” he asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, definitely. Don’t you worry your pretty little head over it.” he lied over his teeth, praying his boyfriend didn’t notice his discomfort. It must’ve been his lucky day as, other than a concerned noise, Varian seemed to take this answer as gospel and just cuddled into his side further. Hugo thrived in their moment of peace amongst the madness of Christmas, almost like the week before where they sat in the park at almost midnight just cuddling on the park bench. This only lasted a moment, however, as Rapunzel called them all in for dinner as she placed various dishes onto the table. 

Everyone crowded around it, Varian holding Hugo’s hand under the table as they sat side by side (the fact that Varian was left handed helped tremendously, considering Hugo was right handed and both could hold each other’s less dominant hand) with a shy smile on his face as he, once again, answered the numerous questions on how they met. All the while, Hugo sat uncomfortably. It was all too much for him - the family, the food, the absolute love...he couldn’t take him. “Give me a minute.” he muttered as he let go of Varian’s hand, standing up and excusing himself. Hurriedly, he left the room and sat outside on the steps up to the house. 

He didn’t get it. How did he deserve any of this? He was a bad person and didn’t see how someone like Varian could look at him and think that he warranted any of this. He was a thief and a liar and messed up everything good in his life. Varian would realise that one day and leave him, just like everyone else in his life did. He didn’t want to admit it but..he knew he wasn’t good enough for someone like Varian. Someone so sweet despite everything he did in his past - someone so forgiving...he didn’t deserve that. The door opened behind him, quickly shutting before footsteps stopped beside him and none other than Fitzherbert sat down beside him. “What. You come to laugh at me or something?”

“Nope. I don’t know why you’d think that.” Fitzherbert commented, looking at the troubled teen and sighing, seeing himself in the boy. He took a deep breath and looked directly ahead as he continued to talk. “I know how you’re feeling. I was an orphan too. You feel as though you don’t belong - like you don’t deserve any of this and you never will. But you do, Hugo. I know I don’t really know you that well, but I’ve been in your boat before and I know Varian well enough to know he adores you. Varian thinks the world of you and looks as though you put the stars in the sky. I’m not trying to invalidate your feelings - you deserve to feel however you want and that's okay, but you need to know that we all care about you so much and...for the record, Rapunzel was really excited to meet you again. Just letting you know, she literally texted Varian asking everything about you like your favourite flavours, colors..hell, even smells!” He let out a laugh, and so did Hugo, albeit a little weak. “You don’t have to come back in..but you can if you want.”

Hugo bit the inside of his cheek before leaning and resting his head on Eugene’s arm, letting the older man put his arm around him before bringing him into a long embrace. One that he didn’t know he needed, especially from someone like Eugene. He let out a breathy chuckle before standing up with Eugene, making their way inside and sitting beside his boyfriend again. Varian gave him a concerned look, Hugo nodding in reassurance and raising his boyfriend’s hand to his lips, kissing the back of his hand before they smiled and continued to eat.

As soon as dinner was over, Hugo found himself sitting down beside Varian on the couch yet again as the others exchanged presents. Eugene had got Rapunzel a purple frying pan (he didn’t question why, the woman seemed eccentric enough to adore the gift, gifting her boyfriend with a mass of kisses), Rapunzel bought Eugene a small ring to match her engagement ring, Irene gave Cassandra a leather jacket and Cassandra gave Irene a pink helmet to wear on the motorbike, Lance got the girls MANY presents that Hugo didn’t have the energy to remember. And that left him and Varian to exchange gifts.

Carefully they both took out their boxes for each other, trading them and opening them at the same time. Both gasped when they saw they’d both bought each other a pair of goggles! Hugo gazed at the goggles Varian had bought for him. They were circular - big enough to fit over his glasses - with orange lenses and spikes around the rim, being painted grey all over. A leather strap connected them at the back, him placing them round his neck. Varian, on the other hand, stared at his in disbelief. A small, extra magnifier was attached to the left eye of the goggles, the rims painted bronze and gold with clear, colourless lenses. They were perfect, he silently decided, leaning in closer to Hugo to place a gentle kiss to his jaw.

“These are perfect, Hugo..I..thank you so much!” he said with love and affection dripping through his words as he put the goggles on top of his head, his hands drifting to the vial around his neck and fiddling with it. It illuminated, shining a soft light across his chest and hands as he gazed down at it in wonder. He looked up at the blonde again, who looked at him with the utmost affection and a dorkish smile on his face. “Anyway, we should be heading back. It’s kinda late and I need my beauty sleep!” he joked, standing and pulling Hugo and Quirin along with him. They bid their farewells, Rapunzel extremely reluctant to let Hugo leave as she hadn’t learnt absolutely everything about him, but she let them leave after a while. They all got into the car and drove back towards Hugo’s apartment complex.

After Hugo left the car, Varian walked beside him hand in hand up to his apartment. “Hey, look at this.” Varian said as they got to the door, bringing a piece of branch out of his pocket and raising it above his head. He raised an eyebrow in confusion, looking down at his boyfriend who quickly elaborated. “It’s mistletoe so you have to kiss me!” he declared, raising himself onto his tiptoes and puckering his lips. His eyes shut and Hugo’s face took on a grin, leaning down to kiss the boy in a long, sweet kiss, pouring every bit of affection they had for each other into it. 

The kiss eventually broke and Varian headed down the hall and away from Hugo for the night, the blonde sighing. He pushed open the door, however it stopped part way due to a weight in front of the door. “Huh? Weird.” he muttered, sliding in through the thin gap between the door as his eyes met a package at the door. It was green and moderately large and, after Hugo had kicked the door shut, he crouched down and reached out to read the tag on the box. 

‘Merry Christmas - Donella’

Huh. That was weird. Donella ACTUALLY getting him a Christmas gift? That was unheard of in his world up until now, but he still picked it up and carried it into the living room before placing it on the glass coffee table. He slowly untied the bow and raised the lid, noticing what was inside the box. It was a new laptop - one he had been working to try and get for months now. He didn’t think she’d actually listened to him when he talked to her about it. “Well, that’s a welcome surprise.” he whispered under his breath, lifting it out to see something else tucked at the bottom of the box. Setting the laptop aside, he raised it to see another jacket - this one he immediately recognised. She’d worn it all the time when he was younger and he’d always loved it, but now..she was actually giving it to him. 

This one was a dark green with a few gold and grey accents across it, the crest of her company embroidered onto the arm only as big as his thumb. He smiled happily, his fingers tracing over the material as he carried both the laptop and the jacket upstairs to his room. He’d always loved the jacket, and usually Donella was overly possessive about her property, so the fact that she was willingly giving it up for him...it was a large statement for a woman like her. 

He pushed open the door and placed the two items onto his desk, changing into his pyjamas and laying down on his bed. He took off his glasses and set them aside onto his bedside table, moving to hug his pillow close to his chest and imagining it was his boyfriend. He’d have to thank them both for their gifts when he had the time.

“Y’know...maybe Christmas isn’t so bad after all.” he whispered to himself before letting himself fall asleep, a smile still plastered on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi gamers! So! This might be my favourite chapter ever - its definitely the longest at 4853 words so...wow! But I'm really proud of this so I hope you love it as much as I do! Thank you for all your support!


	9. Start Of Something New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 6 months have gone by, so how are Varian and Hugo holding up together?

Hugo gently kicked open the door to his new apartment, in his arms were the last of the cardboard boxes with various different labels containing his belongings. Well, he guessed it wasn’t JUST his new apartment anymore, his boyfriend following in behind him and setting a box aside before running to get some more from his dad’s car. Varian had more belongings from him - having taken multiple days to unload his stuff alone with much help from Quirin through this process. He still couldn’t believe how much of a titan Quirin was compared to his titular son, however Varian had said he took more after his mother, and something about Quirin having served in the military of Lunaris prior to settling down in Old Corona. It was a good enough explanation for Hugo, him just accepting it at this point and not to question anything to do with the past of Varian’s family whatsoever, especially not his Aunt Adira and Uncle Hector. That pair...they terrified him to say the least, immediately giving him the most intense shovel talk of his life as soon as he met them. A shiver ran down his spine at the memory, before proceeding to unpack his last remaining boxes.

It was now July - scorching hot sun constantly pounding down onto his back without a care in the world as its heat relentlessly cursed Corona. The town was always abnormally sunny, but this? Now Hugo was almost positive the universe was actively trying to screw him over, like it had before he began dating Varian, of course. Speaking of the boy, they’d been together for six months by now and both boys decided that it was high time they moved in together. Hugo could only sneak in a select few times before Quirin had figured out what they were doing every night, and, as much as Varian’s dad trusted him, it was probably for the best that they moved in together. He just couldn’t bear to be away from the boy for too long - call it whatever you want, abandonment issues, a troubled childhood, whatever. He just wanted to make sure he was safe at all times and the only way he felt he could be sure was with the boy’s figure sleeping in his arms. What could he say, he was a fool in love, completely enamored with his boyfriend and falling in love all over again every time they met eyes.

They’d managed to afford a better apartment than the old one, which was an absolute ripoff by the way, though he was really going to miss the place. It was paid for quite easily too - Varian having found a job that he had yet to disclose to his boyfriend, though he was sure it had something to do with alchemy, and Donella had given him quite a generous raise out of nowhere for his ‘hard work and dedication’, though he was sure it was so he could afford a better place. It was a beautiful place too, already feeling so much like them with framed photographs along the walls of their most precious memories, such as New Year’s Eve and that one time they went to the aquarium, oh! And when they took Yong to a theme park for the first time! A chuckle ripped from Hugo’s throat as he recalled Yong pulling Varian towards the biggest coaster in the park, begging for Varian to go on with him. His face was priceless, jaw dropped at the sheer height of the thing as Nuru and Hugo passed up the offer. Varian had held onto his hand for hours after that as he and Nuru cackled, Yong, who had the time of his life, was buzzing with excitement for the rest of the day. 

Another picture recalled the time they’d gotten matching tattoos - a small test tube on his left wrist and a beaker on Varian’s right wrist. It was a wild day - Varian’s twentieth birthday, that is. They’d just been to the coffee shop, which had become a tradition between the two on a morning to commemorate what had brought them together, when Varian, out of nowhere, had just said he wanted to do it. Hugo blindly agreed to his boyfriend’s request without a second’s thought, the pair heading through the streets to Irene’s tattoo parlour where Irene happily obliged to their requests. What Hugo hadn’t anticipated was how painful it was going to be - his hand gripping his boyfriend’s in an iron grip as he desperately tried, and failed, to hold back his shouts and strings of curses at the jolts of pain running though his body. That was an interesting birthday for Varian - Hugo silently praying his twenty-first would be less agonizingly painful than March 24th. It was coming up on October 27th, so only a few months away. He shook the thoughts from his head as he took in the rest of their apartment.

Along the hall were five doors leading off to different rooms, the first of which being a sitting room - decorated with the mass of green and blue furniture, a common theme throughout the apartment due to their fixations on the respective colours. They blended nicely together too, just like they did. Two couches sat in the room, one pressed against the wall with the glass coffee table from the old apartment in the centre on top of a teal rug. A TV sat on a separate table in the corner at a perfect angle so you could see it when sitting on either sofa (Varian had spent hours calculating the perfect angle, Hugo determining in a few minutes that if they put it in the corner, everyone could see it to which his boyfriend had to stubbornly agree that he was right). In the other corner, a cat tower sat for the fat bastard of a cat Ruddiger who would be living with them. He swore that the cat hated him - always interrupting whenever him and Varian were attempting to get...intimate. It was annoying, him resulting most nights to just shooing it out of the room and locking the door behind him.

Adjacent to the living room’s entrance was the kitchen, the tiled floor causing a clicking noise whenever he stepped. Varian had a strict rule of no shoes in the house, to which Hugo mostly abided to, but not today as he’d been overworked and severely undercompensated by his boyfriend, much to his disappointment. ‘Back to the kitchen’ he thought, taking his mind off the MANY ways his boyfriend could make up for all the unnecessary hard work he had to do. It was, yet again, the second largest room in the house, lined with marble counters and sleek, black cupboards. It had felt extremely out of place at first, not merging in well with their blue and green aesthetics whatsoever, but they made it work, attempting to decorate by placing a clock on the wall, a coffee machine that Rapunzel had bought them and, at last, a toaster. That was the thing Hugo was most excited about if he was being honest - having his very own toaster! Along with the coffee machine, Rapunzel had gifted the pair a variety of customised cups, plates, bowls..you name it, they most definitely had one that Rapunzel had slaved over making for hours just for them. A sweet act from a sweet girl, Hugo muttered to himself and rubbed his wrist absentmindely, his goggles hanging round his neck swaying as he strolled out of the room.

In a straight line from the door was the bathroom, the room housing a bath, shower, sink and toilet. A green mat was laid out on one half of the room, a blue mat meeting it in the middle and spreading out the rest of the way. Another notable article was the toothbrushes that sat in the cabinet above the sink, doubling as a mirror, with a green and blue toothbrush sitting beside each other in a glass cup. Hugo took a moment to check his appearance, fixing his ruffed up blonde hair, straightening his glasses and shooting some awkward finger guns at his reflection. He cringed for a second before heading back out into the hallway, making a sharp left and through a doorway to the next room.

Ah, yes. His and Varian’s room - a mish-mash of the two boys’ decorative decisions and personal interests. A double bed sat in the middle of the room, the covers blue as it was Varian’s turn to have made the bed, with a bedside table on either side of the bed. His table consisted of a small lamp, the book he was currently making his way through (The Tales Of Flynnigan Rider, which Varian had begged him to read for months), a picture of his absolutely adorable boyfriend and his glasses case for when he slept. Also on his side of the room (which was the left, just for the record) sat an oak desk, a grey chair tucked under it, which had the laptop Donella had gifted him placed in it, along with a cup holding his pens and pencils. Papers were stacked up above the drawers and Olivia, in her cage, sat on the opposite side, chittering softly as she slept. A wardrobe sat on his side too, one that him and Varian both shared (Varian had taken a liking, it seemed, to stealing his clothes and keeping them), it painted cyan to fit both their favourite colours. 

Varian’s side was a whole different story, having a bedside table and a desk, along with a guitar propped against the side of the desk. Research papers were littered over the desk, Hugo hastily moving over to set them into a neat pile in the centre of his desk beside his laptop. That was sure to score him a few kisses from the younger boy - he was sure of it! Also on his boyfriend’s side were a lot more photos and posters on the wall - some of people he recognised and many of people he didn’t. For example, the ginger haired woman in the middle of many of them who had a wide smile plastered onto her face, who he swore he’d seen before in Donella’s office, however he couldn’t put a name to the face no matter how hard he’d racked his memory. She was in many of them too, holding baby Varian in her arms and standing beside Quirin, or with Varian in what looked like a makeshift lab, holding a test tube in one hand and the small boy in the other, Varian cuddling the woman close to him. Very heartwarming, however Hugo assumed his boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate him snooping around his side of the room, so he quickly headed out and to the highlight of the whole apartment, picking up his box along the way. 

Pushing open the door to the sight of the room was always just as exhilarating for Hugo as the first time he’d been able to - his eyes meeting their makeshift lab / workshop area where they could practice their crafts expertly. He adored the room, smiling as he made his way through and dumped his box onto the counter before unpacking it. It just seemed so...them to convert the unused bedroom into their own lab space, beakers and test tubes littering the surface with microscopes and Hugo’s own toolbox sitting flush against the wall for both boys to use. He didn’t have the resources to pursue alchemy before, but meeting Varian had given him the chance to begin his research and boy howdy, he loved it! The subject was so interesting, so many different experiments to be done with ways to do it...god, he loved the subject so much. He also loved the way the other boy’s eyes lit up as he rambled about the topic to seemingly no end, his adoration on full display. It was absolutely adorable, and it helped that the couple worked together like a well-oiled machine, seamlessly sliding past each other to grab metals, acids or anything else they may need without disrupting the research at hand. It was harmonic.

Hours later, they’d finally finished the unpacking spree and slumped down onto the sofa in a tight embrace, Ruddiger obviously attempting to break it by scratching at Hugo’s ankles. Hugo paid him no mind, shaking his foot to ward the cat away as his boyfriend watched in amusement. “I swear to god, V, your cat hates me. He might as well be a raccoon with how much trash he eats-”

“Maybe if you didn’t bully and make him insecure, he wouldn’t hate you!” V responded, scooping the...unrealistically fat cat into a loving embrace and nuzzling his nose against his face. “Is he making you insecure, my beautiful boy..? You’re so beautiful.” he cooed, and Hugo could swear the cat was giving him a smug glare, anger bubbling in his stomach at the fact that a goddamn cat was getting more attention than he was - A goddamn obese cat was getting more attention from the love of his life, who he’d completely dedicated himself to, than he was! He let out a frustrated grunt, looking away and glaring at the wall, not even noticing his folded arms and childish pout. Varian had to hold back a full-blown laughing fit at how his boyfriend was acting, slowly placing the cat back on the floor and leaning against him. “Hugh..you look like a four-year-old with a pout like that.”

“So what if I do? That little..thing was grinning at me! Y’know, like the smug little bastard he is! I swear he’d plotting something!” he ranted as his boyfriend moved back into a lying position, taking Hugo’s collar in his hand and pulling him down too. It wasn’t until Varian’s legs had wrapped around his waist that Hugo had noticed the position they were in, a flush creeping onto his face. “Oh so this is my compensation?”

“Yep.”

“I..humbly accept.” He replied, leaning down and capturing the raven haired boy’s lips with his own, the other boy letting out a whine as Hugo’s teeth nipped at his bottom lip. They continued to kiss, lost in the moment with hips rocking against each other’s until Hugo suddenly jolted back. “FUCKING CAT SCRATCHED MY BACK!” he yelped, standing immediately and completely ruining the moment they were having. Varian’s glare redirected itself to Ruddiger who was, rather smugly, licking his paw and sitting on the cushions of the other couch.

“How about we go to bed? It's been a long day.” He comforted, resting his hand on his boyfriend’s back and already guiding him to their room. ‘And we can lock the door’ he decided not to add as he kicked the door to their room shut, instantly locking it almost on instinct. Hugo, however, seemed disinterested in their previous activities, already changing into pyjamas, much to Varian’s disappointment, though he wouldn’t admit it. It was strange though, how Ruddiger didn’t trust Hugo and kept on scratching and attacking him at any given chance. Usually the cat was docile or disinterested in people, never outright hostile. Maybe it WAS jealousy...could cats even feel jealousy? Now that was something he was gonna be thinking about all night..he muttered as he grabbed some pyjamas from the closet and began to change.

As he finished, he sat on the bed and Hugo’s arms wrapped around his waist to pull him into a close embrace, placing gentle kisses to the back of his head in his sleepy haze. Hugo was always lovelier when he was sleepy and when they were alone, the usual sarcastic front he put up dripping away to reveal the true nature of the boy that Varian loved so much. He could be such a gentleman if he put the effort in, like when he’d go out of his way to do the mini things for Varian, such as walking him to his classes or his tutoring job with Yong and Nuru in the library, always taking his time and slowing his pace specially for Varian to keep up with him. And the one time they’d danced together in the kitchen on the night of his birthday.

_ “Hugo, I’ve never done this before.” Varian had whispered, the refrigerator light being the only light in the entire kitchen, yet it was enough to show the face of the smug boy standing in front of him. He looked so handsome though, Varian just wanting to kiss that stupid look off his face. He was bowed down, some song playing throughout the small apartment as he held out his hand expectantly to the other male. _

_ “Goggles, I’ve heard you sing. If you can do that, you’re gonna be a-okay with dancing. Just let me take the lead and keep your eyes on me, you got that?” he questioned, Varian responding with a nod and placing his hand in Hugo’s hesitantly. He was immediately pulled flush against his chest, hands wrapping around his waist as his were encouraged to wrap around the other boy’s neck. They swayed in time with the slow serenade that echoed from the living room, the dimming light being their only source of visibility. Varian didn’t care though, he was too busy staring into the eyes of Hugo, which Hugo staring back. _

_ The music had long since stopped by now, the two freezing with their limbs entangled before Hugo pressed his lips against his, this kiss feeling like no other they’d had before. It felt so genuine, and so raw, and so real. Like Hugo was truly letting down his guard and letting Varian know that he only held love and affection for the other. It wasn’t full of lust or underlying passion - just a sweet kiss between two boys in the kitchen at god knows what time in the morning. And it was simple divine. _

__ Varian’s lips tugged into a soft smile as he cuddled against the boy sleeping soundly behind him. That night, something new had blossomed between them. Of course they’d loved each other beforehand and they knew it, but on that night, they had wordlessly sealed their love for each other. In some ways he’d miss that old apartment purely for that memory and how perfectly cliche it was - two lovers dancing in the kitchen. It sounded like an old movie trope, right? But it was so much better than that for both of them.

Varian turned in Hugo’s grasp to face the boy and rest his head against his chest, shutting his eyes and squeezing them shut. He wasn’t gonna let this boy go, not now, not ever. He loved him more than he could ever hope to describe, from the way he had remembered Varian’s coffee order and how it always specifically needed to be vanilla, to the way that they could just be dorks, jamming out to some songs in the lab, and the way he wasn’t afraid to show Varian just how committed he was to the boy. It was all so sweet. As he drifted off the sleep, he thought to himself…

This is the start of something new, and something beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey gamers, sorry for the delayed release of this chapter.  
> My updates may become less frequent as I am starting school again in a few days, so I'm sorry about that.  
> Thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.


	10. I'll See You When I Fall Asleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conflict is arising in Varian's mind - along with an unexpected visitor and a revelation to Hugo.

_ Thunder rumbled and lightning crackled outside the window as Varian shook, holding a small test tube in his hands. Where even was he? His eyes weren’t adjusting properly, until the sudden flick of a lightswitch brought about a blinding light. Varian attempted to cover his eyes to block it out, his attempts not working in the slightest. He lowered his arms with a frown and glanced around the room as he regained his vision slowly. Nothing seemed right here - a fantastical vibe surrounded the whole room as he took in all the small details. _

__

_ The room was dank, the aroma of rotting wood filling the room which, coinciding with the light, made for an awful pairing that made Varian queasy. Uneven, cobbled floor made his feet slip slightly and he struggled to keep his balance as he felt himself feeling sicker and sicker. There was almost no natural light in the room either - only one half-oval window that sat above a creaky table, covered in journals and various scientific apparatus that he had used many times. A raccoon sat on the table too, snoring with a large sheet of paper lying underneath it. The cause of the bright lights were around six lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and now that his eyes had time to brace themselves, he could see it really wasn’t that bright, with an eerie mood being set in the room. Paper and chalk also littered the wall with frantic scribbles about something he didn’t understand. The sundrop…? He didn’t know. The thing that put him off..were the rocks. _

_ Black rocks shot out of the ground in clumps of two or three, reaching so high they almost pierced the rotting ceiling of the makeshift laboratory. He reached out and rapped his fist against the rock quietly - it seemingly was not breaking. Huh, invincible black rocks? Makeshift labs in an ancient house? It was strange how much they put him off, unease building in his stomach for some reason unbeknownst to him. His eyes set on a large figure in the middle of the room, covered by a towering sheet with small patches of different fabric scattered over the sheet. The stitching looked poor though, as though someone who’d never sewn before had done it. Come to think of it, his clothes were the same, a cyan shirt with a patch on the left arm that was significantly darker than the rest of the fabric. The shirt, however, was almost completely covered by a leather apron, also swamping the brown trousers that he was wearing, stopping shy from the top of his boots. It didn’t seem right for him to be wearing this. A frown crept onto his face as he rested his hands on the sheet, taking in a deep breath before pulling it away and revealing the thing it was concealing. A gasp left his mouth and he doubled over, taking in sharp breaths as the tears instantly built in his eyes. His head shot back up to stare at the sight in front of him. _

_ A hard, amber substance twisted in harsh turns, sharp spikes of it trailing high and curling at points. His boyfriend was trapped in the amber, his hand outstretched with a note in his hand, a clear expression of pain on his face forever. Tears welled in his eyes and rolled freely down his cheek, his shaky steps inching closer to the amber and his hands resting on it. “Hugo?” he whispered, unsure of whether his father could even hear him from his crystallised prison.  _

_ “Varian, what have you done?” Varian’s head snapped around to see Rapunzel, hands raised to cover her mouth in shock of the scene unfolding in front of her. She looked so frightened - but not of the amber, of him. She looked different too - blonde locks that must’ve measured over sixty feet were tied back into a mix between a ponytail and a braid replaced her brunette bob. She also wore a purple dress, akin to one an elegant princess would wear. He opened his mouth to say something, before being rudely interrupted. _

_ “This is all your fault.” Another voice. Eugene’s. He slowly moved from the darkness and placed his hands on Rapunzel’s shoulder, her turning back to wrap her arms round him in a fearful embrace. He glared coldly at Varian, as if he’d done something wrong.  _

_ More and more voices joined the symphony of blaming Varian, each declaration cutting deeper and deeper each time. He covered his ears, a futile attempt to try and block all of the noise out but it only got louder and louder. People he loved were calling him a monster. All except for.. _

_ “Hugo! Hugo, I’m so sorry!” he cried out, forcing himself to raise his head and eyes darting around the room and staring at the prison of the boy he loved so dearly that he’d created. He couldn’t bear to look at his frozen corpse, too many people crowding and screaming at him about his faults. It was all becoming too much. The yelling, the closeness..he couldn’t handle it. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, moving closer and closer towards the floor. “Hugo!”  _

“HUGO! He yelled and sat up, grasping the bedsheets and letting out heavy, shaky breaths, startling the safe, sleeping form of his boyfriend beside him. His knees curled against his chest, trying to steady his breathing to no avail as his small form shook with every sob that left his mouth. Sweat formed a gross blanket over his skin, presumably from his body reacting to the panic he was feeling. What even was that place? Why did everyone look so different? Why wasn’t Hugo there? The questions flooding his head only caused more stress to take its toll on his body as his breathing quickened once again. 

“Varian.” His boyfriend’s voice called from beside him, “Hey, can I touch you? Is that okay?” he questioned, Varian giving a small nod before Hugo’s hands rubbed soothing circles onto his back carefully in an attempt to help comfort him until he was ready to talk. Still shaking, Varian leaned in closer to his boyfriend, comfortably moving so they were laying down in a gentle embrace, swaying slightly as Hugo whispered sweet nothings to his boyfriend and placing kisses to the top of his head. “Hey, whatever it was, it wasn’t real. I’m here now and you’re safe. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

As he felt more comfortable and safe, he looked at Hugo’s face. Concern covered it - his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he held Varian’s hands in his own, peppering kisses over them. “I..woke up in a lab. I didn’t recognise it. It was covered with all there..black rocks that stuck out of the ground. And there was amber in the middle. You were stuck inside. Everyone was yelling at me and saying it was all my fault. It was terrifying, Hugo. I couldn’t breathe. I just..” his arms tightened around the blonde, gripping the fabric of his shirt. “I was so scared that I’d hurt you. That I’d actually lost you..I don’t want to lose you, Hugh. I love you too much.” he whispered against his boyfriend’s shoulder, the muscles underneath his shirt tensing tremendously in reaction to his words. 

Hugo sat in silence, holding the boy closer to him and staring blankly at the wall. How..how could he respond to that? Amber..? Black rocks? He let out an exasperated sigh as he pet the hair of the younger boy. He’d never seen his boyfriend so distraught over a nightmare, the other gripping his shirt as they embraced. He reached for his glasses, putting them on before picking up his phone to check the time. 3:54am. Well, they weren’t going back to sleep anytime soon anyway, he decided before shuffling back in the embrace, resting his hands on his boyfriend’s shoulders. “How about we put on one of those crappy romance films you love so much and make some hot cocoa? How does that sound, sweetheart?” The sight of Varian’s slight smile and a nod was all the confirmation he needed. “Okay love, you go make the cocoa and I’ll sort out the snacks. After all, you are the cocoa master.” He added with a chuckle before swinging his legs over the bed, pushing the fuzzy slippers Varian had randomly bought him one day onto his feet and striding down the hall to the living room.

He set up a mini bed for them on the sofa, bringing over a blanket and pillows for the both of them. He knew Varian’s would go unused though, the younger would most likely opt to lay on top of him with his head on his chest, not that he was complaining. More pillows for him, he thought with a grin as he walked into the adjacent room to get some snacks. Passing his boyfriend, he decided on a wide variety, including candy, chocolate and some ice cream in case that’s what Varian decided to opt for. He glanced over at his boyfriend, whose attention was solely focused on making the perfect beverage for both of them. A lovestruck smile drifted onto his face as he strutted over, placing an unexpected kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek, throwing off his concentration for a split second. “Smells wonderful babe, keep up the immaculate work and maybe I’ll teach you the art of making the perfect vanilla latte. Who knows?” Varian chuckled, Hugo silently praising himself for making the boy smile at least a little bit before heading into the living room, an abundance of snacks in his arms.

Carefully he set them out on the table, being sure to empty out a packet of cat food for Ruddiger into his ceramic bowl, the cat graciously jumping from his perch on the cat tower and beginning his meal. Hugo rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his lips at his peace offering being accepted so willingly by his arch-nemesis. Hopefully now the cat would let him spend some time alone with his boyfriend, letting them cuddle on the sofa and watch one of Varian’s….admittedly terrible romance films free from any intrusion from the attention whore. 

He understood the cat’s worry though - according to Varian, he’d taken him in when he was a kitten and extremely malnourished, taking care of him. From then on, Ruddiger had been extremely loyal to Varian, never straying from his human’s side (because let's be real, Ruddiger owned Varian, not the other way around. That cat had almost everyone wrapped around it’s metaphorical finger and it knew that...terrifyingly well) even when he’d executed some very much illegal acts in the name of helping his father. 

Hugo didn’t blame Varian for his past, loving the boy either way. His dedication was difficult for the other to understand. He’d never really learnt to form any bonds with...well, anyone. Having no parents and growing up in an orphanage that couldn’t have cared less about any of the kids there didn’t help either, even after Donella ‘adopted’ him, it still didn’t do anything. Varian was the only person he’d ever really had an official relationship with, the rest just being out of boredom and the complete and utter loneliness he’d felt because of the distance Donella had put between him and her. He never really had anyone there for him, so he’d just keep on using people for his own personal means and throwing them away without so much of a glance back with no remorse when he was finally done with them. He knew it was wrong - that he was hurting people who didn’t warrant it - but he just didn’t care at all at the time, because he knew he’d never see them again. Right? He guessed that was it - devotion never coming easy to him anyway, so of course it would be a difficult concept for him to grasp anyway. He let out a sigh and laid down on the sofa, pulling the blanket over himself quietly before scrolling through his phone and waiting for his boyfriend to join him.

“Heya Hugh.” Varian called as he entered the living room, setting the mugs down on the coffee table in front of them beside the snacks before shuffling under the covers, sitting in between his boyfriend’s legs with his back pressed against his chest. Hugo reached out to grab their mugs and sipped the hot cocoa, making a slight moan of satisfaction. “Oh my god, this is so good, Varian!” he cried as he kept chugging the delicious drink, an arm wrapping around his waist, giving his boyfriend time to push it away if he wanted. Varian didn’t seem to mind, already turning on the film and beginning to eat his ice cream happily. 

They sat in silence for a while, Varian watching his film and Hugo drifting in and out of sleep repeatedly. The only thing keeping him awake was the occasional sound of his boyfriend’s laughter or mumbling to himself at how ridiculous a certain character was being. It was kind of adorable listening to the younger man rant under his breath about something completely fictitious. He kept his gaze on Varian happily before a frown developed on his face. That dream Varian had sounded terrifying, if he was being honest, and it scared him to death. Just how much self loathing was the boy harbouring without even speaking up? Sure, he’d done some bad things in the past, but everyone had forgiven him for that, so why couldn’t Varian forgive himself? It weighed on Hugo’s mind, his nimble fingers tracing small circles onto the other’s stomach gently to keep himself grounded. 

“You’re thinking so hard, I can almost hear the cogs in your head turning.” Varian commented, not even looking at his boyfriend as he kept his eyes focused on the TV. “If you’re thinking about what I think you’re thinking about, I’m fine. It was just a dumb nightmare that really spooked me at first. I was so scared of the concept that I’d lost you for good that I couldn’t breathe or even focus. I didn’t even know what I’d done or if I’d even done anything, I’d just accepted that yes, it WAS all my fault. What I did in the past was...well, it was atrocious in all honesty..but that doesn’t reflect who I am at all. You know who I am. I was just so lost without my father, and I couldn’t turn to my mother...I felt like everyone had turned their back on me and that I wasn’t even deserving of the very air I breathed. It’s gonna take me awhile to forgive myself for what I did to Rapunzel and Eugene and, well, everyone. But I’ll get there. Okay?”

Hugo’s fingers braided a section of Varian’s hair as he spoke, taking in every word he spoke and giving it time to process, admiring his work mid-speech. “Okay doll, I just don’t want you thinking I’m gonna just..up and leave one day, y’know? You know about my old reputation in senior year..how I’d date around and leave a trail of broken hearts behind me but..I just want you to know I’m serious when I say I’m fully committed to you, okay? I adore you for all I’m worth. I’ve never met a guy as spectacular as you are, but I would never ask for anyone different. Varian, I really do love you.” Hugo confessed, subconsciously pulling the boy closer to his chest and shutting his eyes. “More than you’ll ever know. You’ve taught me...so so much about unconditional love and what it takes to be so in love you’d do anything for them so...thank you. Just- thank you.”

“Aw, Hugo being sappy? Are you the real Hugo or are you an imposter?” Varian said with a grin and a laugh, leaning his head back before closing his eyes. “Let’s just watch the movie, babe...okay? I love you too, for the record.” he whispered back, intertwining their fingers. And thus, the boys slowly drifted into a deep slumber, wrapped in each other’s arms and ready to face whatever the universe threw at them.

Well, almost anything the universe threw at them.

They awoke, limbs tangled, on the couch to a loud banging at the door. Hugo groaned, rubbing his eyes as he slowly started to sit up, Varian stirring too on his chest. “Who the fuck is here and why the hell are they banging the door so goddamn loud?!” he exclaimed, Varian removing himself from his boyfriend’s lap and heading towards the door. Hugo didn’t understand. Does no one in this modern age have any respect for anyone? All he wanted to do was cuddle his boyfriend on the couch all morning before the inevitable angry texts from Donella swarmed his phone.

Oh shit. What if it was Donella at the door? Oh god. He’d ever introduced Varian to his side of the family (and quite frankly, he didn’t want to, considering how...dysfunctional it was. It wasn’t even officially a family unit, Donella only being a mother figure) and he didn’t want Varian to meet her when she was mad. Donella had a supernatural strength when she was mad - not even kidding, he’d seen her make one of the strongest men in the workshop, a man who had LITERALLY been nicknamed ‘Skullcrusher’ when he was in a gang for...obvious reasons, cry like a baby on the floor. It was a feat in its own right, however he didn’t want Varian to suffer through that same treatment. He hurried into the hall. “Hey Goggles?-” He froze.

There was a woman at the door. Her ginger hair was tied into a neat bun, fringe falling and stopping just above her right eyebrow. She had the same eyes as Varian, except a slightly more vibrant, electric blue than his beloved’s, along with freckles scattered all over her face, hands and what was visible of her arms. She was slightly taller than his boyfriend, still smaller than him, but nonetheless she still possessed some height over Varian. She looked exactly like the woman in Donella’s pictures, the one who used to be her old research partner...though who was she?

He walked over and rested his hand on Varian’s back, leaning forward slightly to catch a glimpse of his face. He looked astonished and shocked - his mouth and eyes wide in amazement as he spared no mind to Hugo, solely focused on the woman in front of him. His hands shook slightly as he pulled them to his sides. “Mom..?” Varian hardly whispered, taking a step towards the woman, who reached her hand out to cup his cheek gently.

“Varian-” She called out, a soft smile on her face and tears building in her eyes as she took him into a hug. Oh, yeah. Now Hugo could place the name, his eyes narrowing in disdain towards the woman before him. She was the one who had stopped Donella’s progress in the scientific field, stealing her research and disappearing to the other ends of the earth. She was the one who had ruined her life, and consequently, his too. Her eyes met his and she smiled slightly, extending her hand out to him. “Oh, where are my manners? Let me introduce myself, I’m Ulla. Ulla Ruddiger.” 

His boyfriend’s mother was his motherly figure’s worst enemy.

Brilliant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Ulla has arrived!!!   
> Thank you all so much for the support!!  
> Also kinda surprised no one pointed out how the two last chapters were named after High School Musical songs but hey! I thought it would be a fun little reference!


	11. Everything You'll Never See Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ulla is back, but is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Hugo stood in the kitchen, preparing drinks for all of them as Varian and Ulla sat in the living room catching up. A billion questions flooded his head. How did she know they were here? Did she know Hugo was Donella’s….kind of, sort of son? Why was she coming back now? Varian had said that she left when he was younger and didn’t come back, so why did she suddenly show up now? It didn't make any logical sense - surely Varian must’ve known that. As excited as the boy was to see her again, he had to admit there’s gotta be an ulterior motive for his mother coming back. It had to be selfish, after all that’s the kind of woman Ulla was according to Donella.

He didn’t know Ulla personally, however Donella had told him many stories about her. About how they were friends when they were younger, and used to do a lot of research into alchemy and chemistry along with engineering, and how they were the perfect team. They had worked together in harmony, Hugo having read the few salvaged ones that Ulla hadn’t stolen when she’d left. He was fascinated by the sheer brilliance behind the words they wrote - each one seemed to be meticulously planned without a word being out of place. It was honestly perfect in his eyes how it just flowed so naturally from word to word and made so much sense despite using lengthy, scientific words throughout. He was in awe, however...as soon as Donella saw him with them, she’d immediately taken them and ripped them up right in front of his face as he stood in shock. That was the first time he’d ever seen any emotion on her face - and it was one of his worst memories. Seeing the usually stoic woman with such heartbreak in her eyes at even the sight of her old partner’s handwriting...it hurt. Soon after, she’d told him the story of her and Ulla.

_ “We were teenagers when we met, only new in the field and trying to establish ourselves.” she began, her gaze on her hands looking distant. “I suppose it was natural that we’d drifted together - with her eccentricity and my seriousness..we made for a force to be reckoned with. Our research was incomparable! We’d done so much together and..well, of course she’d met that man, Quirin and soon got married and pregnant. Suddenly, she never had time to dedicate herself to our studies, it always being her and her family at the top of her priorities. I should have seen it coming, she was always the weaker one when it came to love and romance.” she let out a sigh, and Hugo shuffled closer to her in silence. _

_ “We had an argument - a large dispute. It wasn’t...we both said many things we regretted and..we parted ways for a while, me going to my research and her working alone. However, one night, I made a big revelation. I knew I couldn’t do it alone so I called her. We got back in touch and decided to pursue it. One night, she’d figured it out. She tried to steal all of our papers - mostly my hard work. She threw a test tube at me. I assume it was meant to scare me, but she miscalculated and..” she gestured to the gnarled scar on her cheek, it twisting disgustingly from her chin to just below her lip. “She caught my face and, when she saw what she’d done...she just ran. Ran far far away and I haven’t seen her since”  _

__ Hugo silently stirred the coffee, the teaspoon boiling hot at this point as he looked back on how broken his..mother figure was. It was the most emotion she’d ever permitted herself to show him, all of it truly reflecting how betrayed she’d felt. Why did Ulla have to be Varian’s mother? It just wasn’t fair at all how the universe gave him everything he ever wanted and then ruined it by making Varian’s mother the one person his mother despised. It really was just spitting back in his face, huh? He let out a frustrated sigh and picked up the mugs, leaving the room and heading towards the sitting room silently. 

Donella wasn’t gonna like this.

Varian sat beside his mother, listening to her ramble on and on and on about the different things she’d done since she’d left him and his father. He didn’t absorb the information, only staring at her face in wonder and confusion. “That’s...that’s great and all, Mother, but...how did you find me?” He questioned, interrupting...whatever adventure she’d been telling him about the whole time. She looked at him and tilted her head slightly, a smile on her face.

“Oh! Me and your father kept in touch - well. Kind of. I went over to his yesterday and asked where you lived. I just..had to see you again. It’s been far too long since I’ve seen my baby boy. And look how much you’ve grown up..it’s honestly fascinating…!” she exclaimed, pulling him into another tight hug. “Also, who's that boy you live with? He seems nice!” 

“Oh, his name is-” He smiled as, speak of the devil, Hugo strutted into the room and placed the coffee cups on his face, however..something felt off. His shoulders seemed stiffer than usual, his eyebrows furrowed in a way that made him look...almost conflicted. What was he conflicted about? What wasn’t Hugo telling him? “This is my boyfriend, Hugo.” He explained, a smile on his face as Ulla once again extended her hand, Hugo glaring at it and turning away.

“Charmed. Goggles, I’m heading out. I’ll see you later.” he muttered, turning on his heel and heading towards the door. He didn’t understand..why was his boyfriend so distant? Had he done something wrong? He took a second to glance over at his mom, her eyes narrowed and returning Hugo’s previous glare, as if trying to put a name to a face. But that was impossible. They couldn’t have met each other before...right? As soon as that though crossed his mind, Hugo left the bedroom, grabbed his keys and essentially ran out of the front door, giving his boyfriend no chance to say goodbye or..anything. What was going on with that boy? 

Immediately, Ulla grabbed her son’s hands and pulled him closer to her. “Varian. I know this is very forward but...you need to break up with that boy. Now.” She declared, Varian moving away in shock and staring at her. Break up..with Hugo? Really? She’d just waltzed back into his life and was trying to command him already? Did she really think that was normal? “I know what you’re thinking...but that boy? His mother is the woman who forced me to leave Corona until it was safe for me to return.”

Varian paused. “What..? What do you mean?” 

“His mother- well, motherly figure...is Donella. At least I think so from the fact that he has her old jacket. Aka the woman who I used to conduct my research with. We had gotten far on our projects together, however...she wanted to sell our creations to some..very very bad people. She had threatened me so..for our safety, I took the research notes and ran as far away as I could. I wished I could have come back for you, but with her around..it was too risky. And I’m sure your boyfriend knew, judging by the way he looked at me. I’m...very sorry.” 

Varian sat in a shocked silence. Hugo. Hugo was working for the woman who took his mother away from him, and he knew the whole time. He knew that Donella was bad, and yet he still worked for her. His head hurt. He thought Hugo was good - that he loved him and would tell him anything..his fist slowly clenched at his side. He’d been betrayed once, it sure as hell wasn’t going to happen again. 

It was time for him and Hugo to have a talk.

\--------------------------------------------------------

“WHAT?!” Donella’s usually tight and toneless voice boomed in anger, loud enough that Hugo thought she’d caused the very foundations of the building to shake. His eyebrows furrowed and the hands that had been in his pockets curled into fists in an attempt to calm him down, nails digging in causing painful little spikes. Her usual perfect hair wouldn’t stay in her ponytail, strands sticking out wildly with the older woman making no attempt to fix it whatsoever. She was like a shell of the woman she was only a few minutes prior - shock and discontent plastered over her features at Hugo’s news of Ulla’s return. “I forbid you from seeing that boy. Ulla is trouble and her offspring will be too.” she concluded without a second’s thought, walking away and leaving Hugo with a dumbfounded look on his face.

“I-what? No! Mo-Donella, I can’t just break up with Varian! I love him!” he called out, following her down the darkened hallway, knowing full well their argument was bouncing off the steel walls of the warehouse. He didn’t care though - she couldn’t just keep him away from Varian because of some grudge she had! That wasn’t fair on them! He loved that boy with all his heart and soul..Donella could never change that no matter how hard she tried! 

“I don’t care if you love him or not, Hugo. I am your m-” she stopped herself, her feet stilling. “I am your boss and you WILL do what I say or you’re going to have to leave! It's me or the boy!” she yelled, continuing to walk. Surely the boy would get the message- a bang sounded on the floor. She turned to see her jacket in a pile on the floor, Hugo glaring at her with defiant eyes. 

“Then I choose him.” Hugo stated, clear as day. The..he was leaving her? She watched him walk down the hall, her feet stuck to the floor as she tried to get over the shock to her system. Her own son- well...student was leaving her for some stupid boy - Ulla’s son no less! It was a sickening thought, making her double over, until she finally concluded. “He’ll be back.” She muttered to herself as she continued her trek down the hall, though a part deep deep down inside of her silently prayed that he wouldn’t. That he would find happiness and love with Varian. It’s what the boy deserved. She just hoped the other boy didn’t hate him for her actions..

Hugo sprinted home, throwing open the door. “Varian, hey- I have something I need to-” he paused when he saw Varian, standing with a glare on his face and his arms folded. He looked murderous, blue eyes filled with the utmost contempt for Hugo. He’d never seen that look on the boy before...and it made him freeze up in fear. Had he always looked that terrifying?

“You’re working for the woman that took my mother away from me. And you knew this whole time. Didn’t you?” Oh god. His voice sounded so spiteful, all his love for Hugo turned into hatred in just a few hours. He should’ve told him, but how could he have even entertained the idea that Ulla would show up out of nowhere? “Answer me.”

“Varian I-I didn’t mean to-”

“You did! OH MY GOD, HUGO! You have no idea how much I prayed for my mother to be lying to me about that, but she wasn’t! I-Get out! I never want to see you again!” Varian yelled, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as he clenched his fists at his sides. Hugo wanted nothing more than to pull the boy into his arms, comfort him and tell him how truly sorry he was...but he guessed that wasn’t a possibility anymore. He felt his heart shatter as he looked at the boy for longer. Surely he didn’t mean that..

He slowly reached his hand out to the younger, a frown on his features. “Varian..”

Varian slapped it away and screamed at him. “WE’RE DONE! DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? YOU RUINED MY LIFE SO-SO JUST GET THE HELL OUT! NOW!” And with that, Hugo felt his heart break for good, a million pieces shattering on the floor as tears started to well in his eyes, before he quickly turned away and ran. 

  1. No this can’t be happening. This CAN'T BE HAPPENING!- He couldn’t lose Varian! He was-he was the only thing he had left! He ran as fast as he could through the rain, feeling it soak through the T-shirt and trousers he was wearing before he finally turned into the warehouse. He stared at Donella, tears building before running forward and wrapping his arms around her, letting out the emotions he’d pent up for so long...crying freely into the shirt of the older woman.



Donella merely petted his hair and sunk to the floor, hugging him for the first time ever. She couldn’t bear to see him like this - she’d prayed this wouldn’t happen to him. That he wouldn’t get his heart broken so young..but he did. She sighed and muttered to him. “It’s going to be okay, son..don’t worry.” She whispered to him, holding him close. 

Ulla was going to pay for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is short - I desperately wanted to get through it without crying too much while writing it so...yeah.  
> I hope you can at least try to enjoy this???


	12. Some Mistakes Get Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heartbroken, Hugo tries to pull himself forward and make his way through the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW - Panic Attacks

Numb. That’s all Hugo really felt - completely numb as he laid in his old bedroom at Donella’s housse, his eyes fixated on and staring at the cracks that ran over the ceiling. The room had a significant lack of green and blue that he was so used to, devastating him to no end with the thought of the colors reminding him of the boy that he missed so dearly. He shook the thought of the other from his brain, turning over on the too-small bed and fixing his eyes on the wall. The wall was bare too - no pictures or memories or..anything that was brought into his life over the past six months. He’d changed so much over those six months, yet as soon as that..woman entered their lives not even twenty-four hours ago, Varian was willing to give it all up for her. Had Varian even loved him or felt the same as he did?

Questions drifted around his head as he lay there, a monotone expression on his face as he tried to deal with his inner turmoil and heartbreak caused by the younger boy. He’d have to move all his stuff back here again and go back to how he was before..what had Ulla even told him? What did Varian mean when he said Donella ‘took his mother away from him’? Did he even know what had happened between the two women? Why did he want Hugo out of his life when none of this was Hugo’s fault? He raised his phone to his face, his face shifting to a frown at the mass of missed calls from Varian before he set it aside and sat up. No. If that’s what Varian truly wanted then..then that was that. They were through and Hugo would abide by the boys wishes, because all he wanted was to make Varian happy.

Even if that meant completely erasing himself from the other’s life.

He rose to his feet, eyes looking around the room once again as he’d been doing for the past hour. He missed the familiarity of the apartment, but he guessed there’d be no going back there now for a while. He let out a sigh and checked his phone - Wednesday. His last class before summer, just what he needed to get the other boy out of his mind. Perfect! He could just...mess around and go back to normal. He straightened out his clothes and reached out for a watch, placing it on his left wrist and completely concealing the small tattoo of the test tube that sat on it. That was that. He strode across the room, pushing open the door to his room and making his way down the hall to his one real ally’s workshop - Donella’s. 

With shaking hands, he twisted the doorknob, sliding the door open, and entered. The woman was already leaning over a contraption of some sorts, goggles over her eyes before she raised her head and raised them, her eyes fixed on the boy. “You need a ride to university, I’m assuming?” He nodded. “Are you sure you want to go?” He nodded again, more adamantly this time. She let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her temple. “Aright, Cyrus will be ready for you in five minutes. Don’t be late.” She watched as he headed towards the door, her mouth opening to say something before snapping shut as he closed the door. “Have a good day, son.” she muttered to herself before getting back to work. 

Hugo leaned against the wall of an alley outside, playing a game on his phone as he waited for Cyrus. He knew he had a wife, but god, did it really take that long to just show up to take him to university? A car horn blared and he made his way to the passenger’s side, not even sparing the driver a second glance as he slammed the door shut behind him and let him get going. He really wasn’t in the mood for conversation - Cyrus thankfully seemed to pick up on this after his first three questions gained no response from the blonde. He didn’t trust himself to speak, with how hoarse his voice had felt after a whole night of sobbing over...no. No thinking about him. They were done, remember? “He never wants to see you again.” Hugo reminded himself as he placed his headphones on his head and looked out of the window in silence. 

_ “What did I do wrong?!” he sobbed as he sat in Donella’s arms on the workshop floor. He couldn’t understand - why? Everything was fine before that...that WOMAN showed up! What had she told him? What made him hate Hugo so much for someone else’s actions? He didn’t want to accept it - he’d just lost Varian. Varian, the one true light in his life, the one good thing that had happened to him since..well, since forever, had just left him like everyone else in his wretched life - just like he’d known he would since the beginning. His body wracked with sobs as he held onto Donella’s shirt tight, the older woman making no move to shove him off, instead opting to stroke his hair and hold him close.  _

_ “This isn’t your fault.” She said with a frown, and for the first time..Hugo believed it. He believed that she was right and that it wasn’t his fault - because what had he done to ‘ruin Varian’s life’? The answer was nothing - the boy just wanted to hurt him and break him like everyone else did, opting to make his way into his heart just to shatter it as soon as the opportunity arose. “C’mon Hugo, let’s get you to your room and you can sleep it off.” Donella virtually whispered, the blonde following her instructions and walking behind her in silence, his eyes focused on the floor with tears halting as he made his way down. This wasn’t his fault. It never was.  _

_ Donella came to a stop, gesturing to the door in front of her and letting Hugo pass to enter. “Goodnight-” she tried to say, the door slamming in her face. He made his way over to his bed and stared at his phone in silence, the boy’s face staring back at him with a wide smile that now made Hugo’s heart burn with pain and upset. He shut the device off, slamming it onto the bedside table, before he turned away and shook, Varian’s words echoing in his head. He fell asleep curled up, his glasses still on his face and tear trails making their wet puddles on the pillows he rested his head on. _

__ “Okay kiddo, we’re here.” Cyrus commented, his voice hushed as he snapped Hugo out of his flashback session. The golden haired boy muttered a quick ‘thanks’ before grabbing his things and exiting the car, slamming the door behind him once again before heading down towards the campus and his classroom. Everyone seemed to make a path for him, whispering amongst themselves as he weaved through the small crowds with chuckles occasionally leaving their mouths. He ignored them to the best of his ability, shoving open the door to his classroom and making his way to his seat in absolute silence. Sitting down in his seat, he pulled the hood of his jacket up and slumped back, letting himself daydream as much as he dared to. It’s not as if this class mattered anyway, it was the final day until summer and next year would be his last. He drowned out the voice of his lecturer as the lesson began, trying to think of anything but the raven haired, blue eyed boy which tore his heart in half. 

Varian walked through the hall towards the library after his final chemistry lesson of the year, trying to ignore the knife of guilt twisting in his stomach after last night’s...events. He had tried to call Hugo to apologise, to tell him he hadn’t meant what he’d said, but he had no response from the older male whatsoever. He just prayed he was safe, he thought, as he buried his head into the older boy’s hoodie. He’d even worn one of Hugo’s shirts (much too big for him) to provide him some relief and feel close to the boy.

He regretted every word of what he said - he didn’t mean to say what he said or even break up with the other boy, because it just wasn’t fair on him. He had no say in what happened between his mother and Donella - hell, he probably wasn’t even in Donella’s care at that point. He wasn’t sure if the actual relationship between them was even mother and son, Hugo having never been open about his familial life. He shouldn’t have let his anger get to him the way it did, taking it all out on Hugo when he’d done absolutely nothing wrong...He chewed the inside of his cheek and groaned, before a familiar face passed him in the hall. 

He couldn’t help his smile when he saw Hugo, his hand reaching out to grab the other’s wrist. “Hugh! Oh my god, Hugo, I thought I wouldn’t see you again! We need to-” He was stopped when the blonde pulled his wrist away from his grasp harshly, his back to Varian, however Varian could tell a glare covered his features. 

“Isn’t that what you wanted? To never see me again?” Hugo spat back, coldly. Even Varian winced at how raspy and hoarse the boy’s voice was - evidently Varian had broken his heart. “Varian, I don’t really want to talk to you right now. Or ever. Goodbye.” he continued as he started to walk down the hall. Ouch, they were on a first name basis now? Why wouldn’t Hugo just listen to him?

“Hugo please, listen to me-”

“What? Listen to you so you can break my heart again? So you can make a point about how much I ruined your life and how much you hate me for it? About how done we are and how much you despise me? Face it, you said it yourself. You hate me. And you never wanted to see me last time I checked so how about you keep your goddamn promises for once and leave?!” He yelled, fists clenched at his sides and heartbreak painted all over his features as he continued his rant.

“And y'know what sucks? I actually loved you so much! I was in it for the long run, hell, I’d already imagined how I was gonna propose to you, but I guess that’s never happening now, is it, being as you never wanna see me again! I had our whole life planned out and that we were going to be together no matter what life threw at us, but I guess you just weren’t that dedicated, were you? Do me a favour, Varian. Leave.” He finished with a glare, turning on his heel and walking out of the building, not looking back once as he continued, pushing open the doors to the university and hurrying down the stairs. 

Hugo hurriedly pulled out his phone, already feeling himself fall victim to his sadness again as he raised it to his ear after dialling Cyrus’ number. “Pick me up.” he declared-well, more like ordered as soon as the man picked up the phone. “I don’t care if you’re busy, I need to get outta this hellhole now so please just come and pick me the hell up!” That silenced the man on the other end, before confirming and hanging up. He rocked back and forth from his heels to his toes and back again multiple times as he yelled, feeling people’s eyes as they stared at him.    
  


As soon as the car pulled up, Hugo heard Varian scream his name. He paid him no mind, hurrying to get in the car. “Just drive.” he told Cyrus, sensing the man’s hesitation before stating yet again. “DRIVE, CYRUS!” he yelled, his knees tucking against his chest as he curled up in the passenger’s seat and rocked back and forth, his chest heaving and trembling. He felt like he was dying, his stomach churning and his head spinning combined with the ringing in his ears and the sensation of choking made him feel disorientated even though they were in the car. He couldn’t breathe at all as he gasped for breath with his heart racing all the while his nausea still continuing. All the faces - all those eyes on him and Varian- he couldn’t handle any of it. Cyrus stopped the car on a deserted country road, Hugo falling out of the car almost immediately and curling up on the floor, his shins and forehead pressed against the asphalt of the road as he tried to regain his senses. 

“You with me, big guy?” Cyrus asked almost half an hour later, cautiously stepping closer and sitting beside Hugo, who was now seated by the side of the road in an uncomfortable silence. “Donella told me what happened with the boy and...you need to know..Donella lied about that night with Ulla. From what I can recall, she did want to sell their inventions and research to the Saporians, who would no doubt use them to hurt people. Ulla, knowing she couldn’t let that happen, did steal the papers and hurt Donella in the process though.” Cyrus sighed, making sure it was okay before placing a hand on Hugo’s back and carefully pulling him into a side hug, the younger man’s head resting against his shoulder. “They are both in the wrong for what they did, neither of them are saints...but don’t let their mistakes hurt you like it corrupted both of them. That boy..he loves you. I can tell from the way he looked at you when he called your name. It’s going to take a while for you two to trust each other again, but you’ll get there. You just need to try. Okay?” 

Hugo bit the inside of his cheek before nodding, moving to hug Cyrus fully. “I wanna go somewhere. Not home but somewhere.” He muttered against the older man, sighing and done with all the crying and heartbreak. 

“How about you join me and my wife for dinner..? I’m sure she’d be delighted to finally meet the infamous Hugo I’ve been telling her about for all these years.” He asked with a grin, helping Hugo stand when he agreed to the proposal. The odd pair got in the car and Cyrus began to drive again, glancing over at the other, who was currently staring out the window at the slowly darkening sky. He just hoped the boy had listened to him and that he would feel better one day. It didn’t have to be now, just..he hated to see the younger male so broken over a boy of all things. He turned his attention to the road. They had a long drive ahead of them.

Varian stood in shock outside of the campus, his hands falling to his sides as he didn’t even realise he’d been reaching out for his boyfriend- sorry, Hugo. It hurt to hear that all - to know just how much he’d hurt the other boy. He really was down for the count with Varian, huh? The inner corners of his eyebrows raised as his eyes met the floor, trying to erase the image of how bitter Hugo looked from his mind. And what’s worse was..he deserved it. He deserved every single word of Hugo’s rant. He let out a loud sigh and composed himself, trekking towards the library. He had to be strong - if not for himself, then to make Nuru and Yong think he was okay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the two dark chapters, guys. Anyway, thank you for so much support on this.


	13. You Still Make Me Weak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nuru knows something is up, and Hugo meets Cyrus' wife

As soon as Varian made his way through the doors of the library, Nuru could tell something was wrong. First off, his annoyance of a boyfriend wasn’t accompanying him, which was a massive giveaway that something had happened between them. They were, quite literally, inseparable, wanting to spend every second of every day in each other’s presence, so to see the pair apart was..truly something to behold. Secondly, Varian’s eyes were red and slightly swollen, a clear indicator that he’’d been crying, along with the little snivels he made as he made his way to their table. As Varian sat down, he hurriedly took out his books and profusely apologised to her and Yong, the latter looking up at her with a worried frown. Nuru returned his worry, patting his back gently to reassure him before turning her attention back to the teen across the table. “Varian, are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah I’m good..all, uh, all is fine on my end!” he replied quickly, Nuru’s eyebrows furrowing as she looked at the older teen. Okay, yep. He was definitely hiding something. But what was it? Of course she didn’t want to push him too far and make him uncomfortable, but...she just had to know what his problem was. She hated when he’d shut everyone out and bottle up his feelings until it became too much, which at that point they’d come out explosively in some massive argument or...something like that.

“Varian,” Yong spoke up, moving closer to the other boy, “We aren’t stupid and can tell something is wrong so...can you please kind of sort of tell us?” he asked as he sat beside Varian, Nuru taking Yong’s lead and sitting the other side, a hand resting on the other’s back in reassurance. 

“Yeah, Varian. We both really, really care about you and are here for you no matter what happened. We really do care.” she moved her other hand to rest over the other’s, Varian withdrawing his hand quickly with his eyes focused on the table. Nuru frowned and shuffled back in confusion, leaving the other boy to have some space. Maybe they’d pushed him too far? Maybe it was still fresh in his mind and he didn’t feel as though he could talk about it yet, but..it still made her uneasy to leave the boy to his own devices when he seemed so saddened by something. “Varian?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it. Can we please just get this over with before Eugene comes to pick me up?” his voice was taut and tremulous, as if he was struggling to keep it monotone, holding back what he was truly feeling. Regardless, her and Yong silently agreed, moving back to their previous positions. Nuru let Varian go first, explaining to Yong Avogadro’s law and percentage yield. She tried her hardest to listen to him and take in what he was saying, but she just couldn’t. All she could focus on was how upset and wobbly his voice was, and that was when it clicked. 

No Hugo, a sad Varian, not wanting to talk about it..it could only lead to one conclusion: they broke up. 

That’s all she could conclude - after all the pair were inseparable and suddenly not being together was..way too out of character for either of them. What didn’t make sense was why. They both seemed so happy, and she sure as hell knew that Hugo was absolutely smitten with the other and wasn’t going to just break up with him out of the blue, so clearly it was Varian’s decision. Why would he do that? Why was he so sad if it was his decision? What in the world had led up to those two just..breaking up? She couldn’t reach a suitable or satisfying conclusion before Varian had to leave, standing and walking out of the library. Almost immediately, Yong’s eyes met hers as he took out his physics notebook and the accompanying textbook. “What’s wrong with Varian?” he asked quietly as he began to write.

“I’m not sure, however by process of elimination, I’ve deduced that..maybe Hugo and Varian broke up-” She lunged to cover the boy’s mouth as he let out a loud gasp, apologising to the librarian, who simply glared at the pair and shook her head. When she’d determined the initial blow had set in, she removed her hand and looked at the boy. “Hey, not so loud okay?” She stated before letting out a sigh.”It’s not confirmed, obviously, but from the look on his face and the significant lack of a certain, blonde haired, green obsessed inconvenience, it’s the only conclusion I could come to. Also, that would be gamma rays with high penetrative power and low ionizing power.”

“But why would they do that?” He asked before checking over his notes again. “Oh yeah, thank you Nuru!” he said with a smile, correcting his notes with a smile before looking back over at her, worry plastered all over his face. “Do you have Hugo’s number? How about we ask him?” Yong added, leaning against the table.

Nuru considered his suggestion for a second. It would help them get to the bottom of what was happening between the two boys, and potentially save them all from an awkward summer if they decided to hang out..but if it was true, then Hugo probably didn’t want to talk about it at all considering he would most likely be broken-hearted. She bit the inside of her cheek, nodding to Yong in approval before taking her phone out, laying it down on the table and dialling Hugo’s number. She set it on the table, on top of a thick, hardback book about astrology before turning on speaker mode. 

\---------------------------------------------

The house was literally miles away from where they’d stopped, or at least it felt like it as Hugo watched everything pass by, the sky slowly getting darker and darker as they travelled down country roads that felt endless. It reminded him of Rapunzel’s house and driving there on Wednesdays, cuddling with Varian in the back of the car without a care in the world. No. No thinking about him. Hugo scolded himself and continued with pouting and looking out of the window as though he were in a teen movie after a break up (well, technically one of the aforementioned facts did apply to him, however that factor was something he really didn’t want to think about as of right now). 

Cyrus pulled into a small, makeshift driveway and left the vehicle, Hugo following suit and looking up at the hose. It was small but homey..Hugo could get used to the rural setting of virtually everyone’s houses, however nothing compared to the apartment he was staying in only a few days prior. How they’d managed to put so much character into five rooms and a hallway was beyond him - but it had just felt so them with how it was laid out, every corner dripping with their personalities. It was perfect. Too bad it had to end. 

Cyrus pushed open the door, instantly being hugged by a brown haired woman, completely dwarfed by him in a tight hug. Hugo stood aside awkwardly as the couple united, the woman in question then bringing him into the hug too. “Oh hello! You must be Hugo, Cyrus tells me about you all the time! I’m Ophelia, his wife, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you!” she explained with a wide grin on her face. “Oh, I should take you through to the dining room - we have dinner all set up now. Cyrus said we’d be having another visitor tonight but he didn’t specify who!” She took his hand in her own and guided him through the house, which was miraculously much bigger on the inside than he’d anticipated. 

Sitting him down, she continued her rambling as he sat down and she began to plate the food. “You’ve become somewhat of a living legend in this house. Cyrus would tell me all the time about all the little schemes you’d have and how much Donella cared about you! It’s sweet to know you have a mother who believes in you, even if Donella really doesn’t show it.” She elaborated, Hugo’s face creeping into a smile before his phone started to ring. Nuru. He quickly excused himself from the table, walking outside into the hallway with a frown.

“I have a few questions, namely why the hell you’re calling me. You never call me, you hate me.” Hugo bluntly stated, leaning against the wall of the household and examining the pictures on the wall. Some of Ophelia and Cyrus when they were younger, one of them presumably at their wedding with Ophelia in her husband’s arms. It was heart-warming, really, but Hugo couldn’t help the bitter feeling that built in his stomach. That’s what he’d wanted with Varian, however he guessed he’d ruined the other’s life and some things just weren't meant to be.

“Yeah, well I have a few of my own,” the girl replied. He could faintly hear Yong in the background, whispering to her and turning the pages of a book. So they were in the library for their little study meet then. Nice. “Did you and Varian break up?” 

The question hit him like a brick, catching him like a deer in the headlights as the reality of the situation finally hit him for real. He fumbled for words, hating how helpless he felt at even the sound of someone else saying the other boy’s name. He truly thought he’d accepted it and that he wasn’t bitter over Varian leaving him - after all, he was happy now and that’s all Hugo really wanted. However, Varian wasn’t happy with him. Hugo paused to regain his breath before swallowing thickly. “Yeah. Yeah, we broke up. It was his decision, because apparently I’d ruined his life and he never wanted to see me again. And we’re done here. Goodbye.” he concluded as he hung up the phone and headed back towards the dining room. 

‘Time to get over it.’ Hugo muttered to himself as he pulled a smile, sitting down and laughing along with Ophelia and Cyrus, ignoring the hole in his heart and how empty he truly felt without the other boy. He wasn’t going to let them see it was getting to him. He was going to pretend until everything was fine in his life and everyone forgot about Varian - though he knew he never would. 

Time to fake it. Just like he was used to.

\----------------------------------------

After dinner, Ophelia had insisted Hugo stayed over for the night and made Cyrus send Donella a message to let her know as she and Hugo went upstairs to prepare the room. He was a sweet boy - always offering to help her with different tasks such as making the bed or cleaning. She’d tried to make the room as green as possible after Cyrus told her about the boy’s obsession with the color. It sounded like an adorable childish quirk, however she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. How he acted didn’t correlate with any of the stories Cyrus had told her prior to meeting the boy. She’d expected endless sarcasm and quips, not just silent nods and exaggerated, fake laughter. Cyrus must’ve caught on too, pulling her into a hug as they sat down on the couch downstairs after leaving Hugo in the room to his own devices.

“He’s just been through a break up - from the sounds of it, Hugo was really devoted to the kid. Had plans to get engaged and marry him one day - hell, he’d even planned out where everyone was going to sit at the wedding, but Ulla showed up and from there...well, everything’s gone a bit downhill. The kid, Varian, told him that he’d ruined his life and some other...really dark crap. Tried to stop him from leaving today, as well, which sent Hugo into an anxiety attack. I’m not sure he even knew he was having one. Just..god, I feel bad for the kid. He really loved Varian and it just doesn’t seem fair that he’s dealing with so much emotional turmoil because of what their moms did. It just doesn’t seem fair.” Cyrus explained as his fingers braided his wife’s hair. 

Ah, that explained a lot. Ophelia sighed and cuddled against her husband, letting out a groan of frustration. “Have you tried talking to him about it?”

“I did initially, but he didn’t answer my questions at all. I just..want the old Hugo back. It hurts me to see him so broken-hearted over a boy, and it hurts Donella just as much. I had to destroy at least ten papers on her desk which were schemes to sneak into the boy’s house and kill him in ways the police would declare accidental. The woman is..straight up murderous and hates him for hurting her son.”

“Geez, sounds like it.” Ophelia commented and moved into her husband’s lap. “Carry me upstairs, I’m tired and my legs have stopped working.” 

“Oh no. Well, I guess I have no choice but to assist my dear wife!” he stated as he lifted her into her arms and carried her all the way to their bedroom, stifling their giggles and chuckles as to not disturb Hugo at all. Even when they were settled in bed, Ophelia couldn’t shake the worry bubbling in her stomach for the boy down the hall. She prayed he wouldn’t try anything stupid and that he’d be okay soon as she fell asleep in her loving husband’s arms.

Hugo neglected to tell them at breakfast how he’d cried into his pillow all night at the sound of their happiness as a couple and how they have everything he’d ever wanted with his now ex boyfriend. He didn’t tell them how desperately he needed the boy to be back in his life because nothing made sense without him. Instead he put on his happy facade and ate, complimenting Ophelia’s cooking with a wide smile on his face despite how it all felt like a lie on the inside. And as they drove back to Donella’s workshop, Cyrus told him over and over things will get better with time, but..

He didn’t want time to get over Varian.

He just wanted Varian.

Little did he know...the other boy felt the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for all the angst!!! I promise it's gonna get better for the boys soon ;)


	14. Forget What I Said, It's Not What I Meant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian thinks a few things over now that Ulla is gone again.

When Varian arrived at Rapunzel’s house, everyone seemed to pick up on what happened. There were no ‘Where’s Hugo’s or ‘Why do you look so sad?’s or any questions, just everyone treating him like he was porcelain or really really delicate..it annoyed him. Sure, he didn’t want to talk about it, but tip-toeing around the subject and acting as though he’d break down in tears at even the mention of Hugo just felt demeaning. It was his decision, admittedly an incorrect once, but his decision nonetheless. He was the one who initiated the breakup, so why would he be the upset one? That wasn’t to say he wasn’t either, it’s just...agh! Feelings were confusing!

Things didn’t change at dinner, everyone averting their eyes from him as they just sat down and proceeded to shovel food into their mouths as fast as they could, as though trying to avoid the elephant in the room - that being Hugo’s empty chair beside Varian’s. He frowned and ate as everyone avoided eye contact with him. Now this was just a joke. He wasn’t upset- He really wasn’t! Sure, he desperately wanted the other boy back and every second without him felt like agony, but hey! He wasn’t having a blatant mental breakdown at least! He desperately tried to make conversation, but everyone else seemed unbothered, just staring at their own plates, so he quickly relented with his attempts and joined in with their unspoken pack to silence.

After the dinner was done, he sat outside on the porch with the wind slowly blowing through his hair as he shut his eyes and let himself be taken away, deep in thought. Was what he did right? Was his mother being truly honest with him? There was no way Hugo could’ve known that his...well he still didn’t even know the relationship between him and Donella, Hugo had never had the chance to tell him, had done what she did to his mother. He couldn’t have been too old when it happened either, only around five or six so it was unfair to just dump all of his baggage on him and take out all the anger. He just didn’t know if Hugo would even forgive him for how he acted out…god, he’d really messed up this time. He still couldn’t wipe the thought from his mind of how broken-hearted Hugo looked as he screamed at him in the apartment hallway, their happy photos relentlessly staring them down to mock the hurricane of negativity he’d created. He let out a sigh. Maybe he was a monster and everyone before was right..maybe he should’ve been the one to go into a coma, not his dad..maybe-

“Hey kid, you alright?” Cass asked as she sat beside him, a frown on her face before she closed her eyes and let herself relax, Varian averting his eyes and avoiding the question. A weight on his back prompted him to look over at the woman, the hand there rubbing small, soft circles like Hugo used to. “I get it, breakups are hard. And they really do suck when you still love the person you hurt, but...I can tell this wasn’t what either of you wanted. You still love him and I can tell from every little movement you make. So talk to him. Chances are he still loves you just the same as he did before, he just doesn’t feel as though he can express it to you. You’re gonna have to be the one to tell him you still love him if that’s what you want. If he’s what you want. I love you, kid, and you love Hugo. And I sure as hell knows he loves you. Just..do what you think is right to reconcile with him, we all can’t bear to see you sad.” she finished, her eyes still shut as Varian stared at her in confusion.

The rest of the night and the whole of Thursday, Varian had thought about what Cassandra had said, it echoing in his brain to no avail as he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Was she right about Hugo truly loving him that much? Surely he couldn’t after all the..less than desirable things he’d yelled at the other boy. Regardless, he’d brought his phone out and pressed Hugo’s contact, immediately typing before hesitating when done. He had the text typed out ‘Hey Hugo, can we meet up at two at the coffee shop? We need to talk.’ but he couldn’t bring himself to send it. It felt like when they first talked, him struggling to even send a simple ‘Hi’, but this time the stakes were higher and their whole relationship depended on it. He sighed heavily and glanced over at his cat, who was sitting in his lap, and he could swear Ruddiger gave him a slight nod. Shakily, he pressed ‘Send’ and prayed to God that Hugo didn’t hate him or ignore him. 

\---------------------------------------

Today was Friday, and Hugo didn’t know why he’d decided to read the text Varian sent him, or agreed to meet up with the younger boy, but here he was, walking down the pitch black streets of Corona town at two in the morning with the only light emitting from his phone screen and helping guide him through the winding roads. He still wasn’t even sure why he’d even picked up his phone and read the text, let alone agreed, after he’d torn his heart in half right in front of him with seemingly no remorse, but hey, he was on his way so might as well agree. There was no backing out, not anymore. He had to face his problems head on - he was done with running from the other boy, even if he’d caused him so much heartache and trouble in the past few days which he DEFINTELY didn’t deserve whatsoever.

He quickly made his way down the road, the uncomfortable heat and humidity of summer causing his clothes to stick to his back. It felt as gross as it sounded, him cringing at the sensation. He hated summer, he always had. Always way too warm, and the orphanage never had air con, neither did Donella’s house so he suffered this time of year with no remorse from the sun until autumn saved him from his pain. Hopefully it’ll all be worth it, he thought as he opened the doors to the place he knew oh so well, immediately strolling to their signature booth and spotting the raven haired boy already sitting there with two coffee cups: a vanilla latte and a black coffee for him, a familiar sight minus the coffee cups. “Hey, don’t I usually buy the drinks?” Hugo asked, forcing a grin on his face before taking a seat.

Varian still looked as beautiful as the day he’d told Hugo to leave, Hugo’s eyes taking in every detail as all the memories flooded back to him and tears threatening to roll down his cheeks as he let them take down the wall he’d placed there. He missed him so much it was hard to even describe. He’d missed the freckles on his shoulders, the way he’d subconsciously cuddle closer to his boyfriend when watching a horror movie, the way that when he laughed, he’d let out little snorts...he missed all the little things, the little imperfections that he adored. However, there were more worrying aspects now that he looked closer: dark bags under his eyes, his skin unbelievably pale. It wasn’t noticeable if you hadn’t known him long, but..Hugo knew him well enough to know he was troubled. Still, Varian forced a slight smile and shuffled closer. “Yep, well I thought I’d switch it up a little being as I kinda..forced you out of your house at two in the morning. Which..brings me to why I brought you here.”

The boy paused, a look of hesitation on his face before he bit the inside of his cheek, let out a deep sigh and proceeded. “I was wrong, Hugo. I was so so wrong to pin this all on you when you didn’t even know. I don’t want our mother’s pasts to dictate our future, because the truth is..I love you. I still love you and I never stopped. You brought..so much light into my life over the past six months and once I let it go, I couldn't focus again. You may hate me and..I don’t blame you whatsoever, but I adore you with every fibre of my being and I mean it when I tell you that. I love you, Hugo Atkinson.” He concluded, tears building in his eyes as silence followed his confession.

Before he knew it, arms pulled him into an embrace and Hugo placed teary-eyed kisses all over his face, laughing shakily as he kept saying “I love you” over and over to the other, those three words forming a symphony that Varian knew he would never get bored of. He exchanged the kisses with gentle pecks of his own, whispering confessions to the other boy as he finally let himself admit just how much he truly missed the other’s presence in his life. But now..now he had him back and he wasn’t going to lose him.

“I love you too, Varian. I..the past few days have been agony without you. I don’t know how I managed and-oh my god I’m so sorry for yelling at you on campus I-I should have listened to you..it wasn’t fair of me to act like that towards you when you were trying to apologise I just-I felt so alone and lost without you-”

“Hugh..hey, look at me. I forgive you. Now..how about we get outta here and back home?” Varian asked, Hugo nodding eagerly in agreement with what he said. After all, it had been a few days since he’d been back at the apartment and, in all honesty, Varian wanted someone to cuddle with him for the night..

The two boys stood, hand in hand, and completely discarded the two coffee cups on the table as they strolled down the street towards the apartment. It was dark, but they didn’t care, content to finally be in each other’s arms once again and happy. It was all either of them ever wanted for the agonising few days that they were apart, and now they finally had it, neither were going to let it go. Even as the uncomfortable heat pounded down on them, Hugo’s complaints just made Varian laugh and giggle even more, moving closer to the other male and squeezing his hand a little tighter. He could listen to the other complaining all day, but now wasn’t the time.

As he’d unlocked the door to let both of them in, Hugo stood in amazement. Everything was the same, pictures still hung on the walls as they had been before, books still in the same places and his goggles still on the table in the hall where he’d left them beside the bowl they kept the keys in. He let himself adjust to the sight, though it was familiar, it still felt different despite nothing changing. Varian however paid it no mind, simply stating “What can I say? I missed your incessant use of green.” before pulling Hugo along towards their living room.

Almost immediately as they went through the doorway to the living room, Hugo had pulled the younger boy into a passionate kiss, Varian’s hand threading his fingers through his hair gently as he took in the taste of the boy which he couldn’t quite forget, but desperately wanted to remember ever since they parted. It tasted just how he remembered - bitter like freshly ground coffee, just how he liked it. He let Hugo deepen the kiss and pin him against the painted green wall, hands roaming aimlessly over each other as they both reminded themselves of just how much they adored each other, before Hugo picked him up and carried him along the hall towards their room, Varian giggling the whole way across. 

Hugo promptly dropped him on the bed and laid beside him, a wide smile on his face as he peppered kisses over his face and shuffled backwards slightly to allow Ruddiger to sit in between them. The cat had gotten a lot skinnier somehow, Varian had assumed Hugo was sneaking him extra snacks sometimes. Ruddiger seemed much happier to see his old rival too, purring and nuzzling his cheek as he greeted his other owner. Hugo also seemed relieved to see the proclaimed ‘fat bastard’ as he gave Ruddiger many many cuddles and an abundance of kisses to his furry forehead. Varian felt his heart fill with more and more love for the boy lying across from him, his hand slipping over his.

“I’ve missed you both so much, I love you so much Varian.” He’d whispered to the boy, cuddling both the cat and the raven haired boy closer to his chest and placing gentle kisses to his forehead too without a care in the world before slowly kicking off his shoes and jacket before laying down again. Varian followed suit, his head now resting on his boyfriend’s shoulder and Ruddiger sitting at their feet as they cuddled even closer than before.

Now everything was how it should be, back to normal with him in his boyfriend’s arms as they both drifted off to sleep. Just how he liked it and just how Hugo liked it, finding comfort in each other with their rekindled love. It felt right. Like the universe was back to normal.

Varian could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY! NO MORE ANGST!!!!!  
> Things are getting better!!!!!!


	15. The Calm After The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian has to go to class, but does he really want to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Yes, I'm going to be continuing this! I really wanted to because I've just been thinking of all these different scenarios and needed to continue this story - I MISS THE BOYS!!!

Mornings like these made it difficult for Varian to want to get out of bed and leave his boyfriend for his classes. Freezing air was all that awaited him as soon as he left the confines of his and his boyfriend’s bed. And besides, it honestly wasn’t fair how Hugo’s arms wrapped around his waist and held him in a cozy embrace as the seconds kept on ticking by the longer he waited, his breath ghosting against the back of Varian’s neck in his deep sleep. It seemed like an eternity since they’d met in that coffee shop in the winter, christmas relentlessly edging closer each day, but he’d met Hugo and they’d spent it together in perfect bliss.

Memories of dates and almost kisses flooded his thoughts as he shuffled further back into the warmth of his boyfriend to combat the coldness of the room. They really had been through a lot, huh? His favourite date by far was the ice skating - even though it had been a horrible night, for that one moment where it was just them, it was perfect. They twirled and danced over the rink without a care in the world as Hugo guided them in their own secret routine that outsiders didn’t notice - hands holding hands and fingers intertwined. It was like the rest of the world just...didn’t matter anymore. It could be just them for that one perfect moment. It was also the night of their first kiss - everything falling perfectly into place for both of them. He supposed that was the night he figured out they were meant to be. 

Then there was the night when they snuck out, streetlights and Christmas decorations being their only company as they laughed and joked on the way to the park where Hugo presented him with his gift - the glowing necklace. Varian’s hand slid from its place on top of Hugo’s to play with the small vial still around his neck, it illuminating with a small shake. It was one of the best gifts he’d ever received from anyone, it was always swinging round his neck to remind him of the other boy. Or the time that they got their tattoos, his eyes now travelling from the vial to the beaker on his right wrist that Irene had done for them oh so kindly as a gift for his twentieth birthday. Hugo’s small test tube on his left wrist peeked out slightly from under the covers, a glimpse of it catching Varian’s eye. Wow. 

Hugo had always been there to soothe him from his nightmares too, playing with his hair and placing gentle kisses to his forehead as he attempted to calm down. Like the night before trouble came, and they’d cuddled up with hot cocoa and snacks on a makeshift bed on the sofa to watch one of his dramatic teen movies to calm down. They’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms that night, his head on Hugo’s chest and legs tangled in their slightly awkward position, but neither cared. It was them and they were happy. It was almost like Varian could sense something was going to happen the next day, the feeling of unease still weighing heavy in his stomach even after Hugo had whispered sweet words to him and held him close all through the night. 

And then there was his mother returning. Of course she hadn’t stayed long, but in the short time she w s here, all hell broke loose between them all. Hell, he’d even broken up with Hugo! What was he even thinking? Even he himself wasn’t sure - he was just so angry and confused and betrayed, because his Hugo wouldn’t do that and he just let himself believe Ulla. He remembered the heartache on Hugo’s face as he’d screamed at him - the way he was clearly trying not to cry as he ran out of the apartment. Varian had wanted to go after him and pull him into an embrace, to kiss and wipe each one of those heart wrenching tears away, but he just couldn’t. Not with Ulla there. Subconsciously, he let himself shuffle further back against the sleeping man behind him, the feeling of his arms around his waist comforting him.

But that was behind them now. All that mattered was them cuddling under the bedsheets in their room - even though Varian knew he’d have to get up soon anyway. 

Varian wanted to shuffle out of Hugo’s grasp. To head out of bed while the other man was still soundly asleep and get changed and ready for college before Hugo tried to convince him to stay for the day and just call in sick, however something stopped him. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to leave today. He wanted Hugo to keep him in bed all day where they could cuddle with the bitter winds outside that seeped through due to the apartment’s shitty insulation and even worse heating units - it hardly even worked most of the time.

A groan left Varian’s lips as he turned to face his still-sleeping boyfriend, his blonde fringe barely covering the scar running through his right eyebrow and the slight tilt of his lip making it look like he was smiling in his sleep. He reached out - slowly, carefully - to push the fringe aside and tuck in behind the other’s ear. He always looked so at peace sleeping. It was adorable. He’d missed this during their break. Sighing, he pushed himself into sitting up, a slight smile creeping onto his face as his legs swung over the edge of the bed to rest on the blue carpet of his floor, a familiar heat moving behind him and wrapping his arms around his waist again.

“Yknow you could always just stay at home. We could bake or watch movies or something..y'know?” Hugo’s husky voice sounded absolutely heavenly at the moment - that alone making him want to sink back into the covers and fall into a sleep again. But no, he couldn’t just give up that easily. Not when it’s Hugo.

“Mmm...I could, couldn’t I.” he muttered, leaning back into his boyfriend who placed a kiss to his shoulder that made his stomach melt and heart soar. God, he loved Hugo so much when he was being soft and affectionate. Ruddiger bounded into his lap and curled up, purring and promptly falling asleep. Ah. 

“Well, the fat bastard has decided you’re staying. So, will you relent to the Lord and Saviour Ruddiger Ruddiger’s laws or will you suffer a whole day of your son ignoring you?” Hugo questioned, and Varian could hear the smirk on his face. Sure, Nuru would probably scold him for not showing up, as would Isla and Eugene, but...with Ruddiger making his rules and Hugo being such a tempting person, how could he leave his two favourite fellas at home? That would be unjust torture!

“Alright, almighty cat lord. You’ve convinced me.” Varian relented with a grin as he flopped back into bed, Hugo moving to lay down as well and pull his boyfriend into another tight embrace as they did so. “But we’re gonna have to think of another illness to let me off. So what will it be? The flu?”

“I’m thinking something more along the lines of...I don’t want to leave my extremely attractive and loving boyfriend syndrome. Absolutely killer disease. Took the life of my friend Zander. Very tragic.” Hugo commented sleepily, his lips ghosting on the back of Varian’s neck, sending little tingles down his spine and making him shiver all over. 

“Sounds like the perfect excuse.” He murmured back. “Hey Hugh..I love you.” Varian whispered as he slowly shut his eyes, Hugo merely making a small groan of agreement to Varian’s confession as they both drifted to sleep once again, deciding to neglect all their responsibility for the day and just...live in the moment. He could call in sick later, or tell Nuru to do it. Either way he didn’t really care. 

Slowly, he shuffled back and let his eyes shut, the one thing that mattered in that moment being his boyfriend’s arms around his waist.


	16. All I Want For Christmas Is You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian wants his boyfriend home for Christmas

Heat radiated throughout the room with soft crackling providing incremental breaks in the comfortable silence Varian sat in. Outside, snow fell in flurries, blowing around outside the window as the wind whistled in a soft symphony with the crackles, though not quite complete. Hot cocoa warmed his hands from its place in the cyan mug in his hands. Marshmallows bobbed on the surface of the drink like little rafts, a few submerged in the liquid as he placed it to his lips and took a sip. Though everything felt incomplete. He was missing one thing - or more specifically one person.

Hugo.

He’d missed the other man all day - everything felt so cold without him. Of course he had to work, they could hardly afford their little apartment with the rent that was...ridiculously high for how small it was. But it was theirs and that was all that matters. It was their kitchen that they’d danced to shitty music on the radio in, illuminated by the light of the refrigerator. It was their bedroom that they’d cuddled in and kissed away each other’s nightmares in. It was their living room that they watched crappy chick flicks in. 

For a few years now they’d been together after meeting up at the coffee shop, the two men being instantly infatuated with each other after their accidental meeting. Neither of them could remember what life was like before they’d met each other - that felt so far in the past now after many dates and disagreements between the pair. He gently rolled his sleeve down to glance at his tattoo, the other man possessing a matching one, and he felt himself slip more and more into loneliness.

He broke himself from that train of thought, his eyes moving to glance out of the window at the dainty snowflakes that fell down carefully. December 24th. Christmas. He adored Christmas since he was a child, the mystical and magical Santa Claus being an intoxicating idea to him. His mother also loved Christmas - it being an excuse to buy him alchemical equipment for them to use and bond over. The walks in the snow, the nights by the fire, the gift of an ornament on Christmas Eve and the joy on the day itself as he sprinted downstairs to open his presents. The holiday took him back to the simple times. 

A christmas tree loomed in the corner of the room, the younger man glancing over at it and the presents underneath with a soft smile, thought the best present sat in the pocket of his pyjamas. Carefully, he removed the black, velvet box from its hiding place and gently raised the lid to look at the object inside. A platinum band, encrusted with shimmering emeralds stared back at him. He couldn’t wait to make his boyfriend his husband. All he had to wait for was that little click-

And at last, it came.

  
Golden locks came into view, then emerald eyes framed by circular glasses that sat on the bridge of a slightly crooked nose. Perfect lips twisted into a smile as ebony gloves were set aside on a dark oak counter. Leather boots crossed the living room as lanky arms wrapped around the raven-haired boy’s waist carefully. The end of the aforementioned crooked nose nuzzled itself into the bridge on Varian’s neck, with his fingers intertwining into the sea of golden hair that sat on the other’s shoulders.

“Welcome home, love.” He whispered to the other man, the latter moving back and placing a gentle kiss to the lips of his lover. “I’ve missed you so so much, my darling..” he added, their lips moving in harmony as though they were a lock and a key. Eyes fluttered shut as they stayed in each other’s embrace. After what felt like hours, they finally broke apart, his head resting against the taller man’s chest. 

“I’ve missed you too, doll. But hey, I got you a little something.” he whispered as he held out a small, white box before dropping to one knee. “Varian, we’ve been together for...so so long and it’s been the best time of my life. I thought now was as good a time to ask..Varian Ruddiger, will you marry me?” the blonde asked, a nervous smile after his heart-melting confession towards his boyfriend.

“No way. This cannot be happening!” Varian declared loudly, a wide smile on his face as his boyfriend’s expression morphed into one of dread and confusion. “No, no…” he laughed softly, falling to one knee and bringing out his own black box to present to his boyfriend. “Hugo, I was going to ask you the same thing.” He chuckled softly, tears building in his eyes with a smile on his lips. “But yes..I will marry you...iiiiif you marry me too.”

“Are you kidding me? Yes!” Hugo laughed softly as he slid the ring onto his finger and tackled his boyfriend in a tight embrace, peppering kisses all over his face as they lay on the carpet in each other’s arms, the fire still crackling and the snow still falling. The once imperfect symphony now felt complete - the whole world falling into place as fleeting kisses were placed to lips.


	17. Are We Forgetting Something?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas 2 : Electric Boogaloo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written before Christmas and I only just remembered it existed and edited it!!! Sorry!! Also I don't really celebrate the holiday so I hope this is okayyyyy

Hugo grumbled as he woke up, Ruddiger jumping onto his chest and taking his place there as though he were a king taking his place on a throne. He purred for a second, his rough tongue licking Hugo’s face and jolting the man to fully being awake rather than his dazed state. “Alright, alright you dumb cat.” He muttered as he sat up, feeling around on his bedside table as he searched for his glasses and put them on. As the world became clearer, he glanced down to his left, taking a moment to glance down at his fiance with a smile playing on his lips. He looked beautiful. Really, really beautiful. 

Hair was sprawled out on the pillow around him like a halo as he snored, his mouth open as he slept. It was a bad habit, really, and he’d noticed his fiance never grew out of it. It was cute as hell though, the other always pulling a face when he woke up at how dry his mouth was. Hugo let out a little chuckle at the thought of it. His fiance really was the biggest dork ever, huh? Still, he admired the man before him as he slept, taking in the little freckles and marks over his face, Hugo reaching over to gently brush a strand of hair away from Varian’s face and being careful not to wake the man up, and, as if he was wired to ruin the moment, Ruddiger took a scratch at Hugo’s forearm. “Ow you fat bastard! Fine, I’ll go get you some food, but you fuckin’ owe me for this.” He grumbled as he rose to his feet, the glint of Varian’s engagement ring not going unnoticed as he made his way out of the room. He couldn’t help the little smile that took over his features as he was reminded of last night. 

As he walked through the tiny apartment, he couldn’t help the feeling he was forgetting something, his hands instinctively moving to lift the cat bowl from the floor and placing it on the counter. He took a look at the clock. 10:27am. Why did he feel like he was forgetting something? Sinking back into the routine, he took out a sachet and emptied the contents into the metallic bowl, Ruddiger deciding to just jump on the counter and eat it right then and there. “You really are a fat bitch, huh.” He muttered under his breath, and he could swear the cat hissed at him in response as he took their mugs from the cupboard and began to boil some water to make a coffee. He really couldn’t shake the feeling he’d forgotten something...was it Donella’s birthday? No, that was in February...Eugene’s? No...the arrogant bastard would have reminded them at least a billion times if that was the case. 

Arms wrapped around his waist, almost scaring the shit out of him as his muscles stiffened and a loud chuckle sounded from behind him as Varian pressed a kiss to the back of his shoulder. “Hey baby…” He whispered, and Hugo could tell that the bastard was grinning smugly as he continued to press kisses against the skin. “Sleep well, my handsome fiance..?” 

“Yes, very, until your bitch of a cat decided to wake me up because he decided his insatiable appetite needed to be at least slightly satisfied in order for him to be happy.” Hugo complained, though his boyfriend simply let out a soft laugh. “Don’t laugh! Our son is literally the worst and he knows what he’s doing because he never wakes you up! Only me!”

“Maybe if you stopped calling him fat, he would hate you a bit less.” Varian whispered, Hugo turning to retaliate before a kiss was placed to his lips and, miraculously, he forgot what he was talking about. They settled into a nice, slow kiss, Varian gently pushing his fiance against the counter as the blond’s hand moved to entangle themselves in raven locks. They would’ve gone further too, if it weren’t for the sudden buzzing and ringing emitting from Varian’s phone in their bedroom. Slowly, the younger one broke the kiss. “Who the fuck is even calling me..” He groaned as he left his boyfriend standing in the kitchen, a childish groan leaving his lips. “Oh fuck. Hugo, remember the day?”

“No actually-” The blond paused. He checked the clock again. 10:34am. He left the kitchen, the fat cat finishing off his food as he stepped into the living room. The Christmas tree was still up. He’d proposed last night as an early Christmas present for Varian, and he’d said yes. That meant yesterday was Christmas Eve and today was…”Shit. Varian, we’re late. We’re late!” he yelled out, rushing into the bedroom to get changed, his boyfriend having already remembered the occasion. Quickly, he scrambled to get dressed, almost tripping over as he pulled on some black slacks and a green dress shirt, buttoning it up and hastily fixing his hair. “Oh fuck, Rapunzel is gonna kill us for being late! Shit!” 

“Don’t you think I already know that!” Varian yelled in response, his choice of outfit being jeans, a white dress shirt and a cyan sweater over the top. Joining Hugo at the dresser, they both desperately tried to fix their hair before rushing to the hall and pulling their shoes on. He had to be honest though, his boyfriend still looked damn good, even when he was rushing to look his best. He was a sight to behold - a sight that made Hugo’s knees feel very very weak and caused him not to think straight. His outfit looked good too, especially when he pulled on his coat and wrapped Hugo’s old scarf around his neck to prepare himself for the bitter weather outside. “You ready to go and get murdered by Rapunzel?”

Hugo took his boyfriend’s hand, raising it to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to the back of his palm, a smile on his face as he saw the other’s face flush red. No matter how much affection he showered the other with, he could never seem to get used to it. It was absolutely adorable in his opinion, the man never ceased to warm his heart. He loved that about him. The same flush always came to his cheeks at the slightest gestures. “Ready as I’ll ever be, darling.” He responded, unlocking the door and heading out into the hallway. 

Walking down the stairs hand in hand was always awkward, the stairs too narrow to let more than one person walk. It honestly seemed like a fire hazard in Hugo’s opinion, but the whole building was essentially a living deathtrap so he wasn’t really surprised. But it was still home. Well, not technically. Hugo’s head raised to look at Varian, who jumped the last two stairs instead of walking down them and a wide smile grew on his face, the joy on his face infectious. Home was wherever he was with Varian. His eyes drifted down to the other’s ring and his smile grew wider, if that was even possible at this point with how happy he already was. 

“I wanna take the motorbike. We’re already too late and walking will slow us down.” Varian rambled as he intertwined his fingers with Hugo’s, the pair already heading over to the aforementioned vehicle. As soon as the green metal came into sight, Varian perked up with a smile and shuffled even closer to his boyfriend. Hugo swung his leg over, his boyfriend following suit and wrapping his arms around his waist before proceeding to drive through the city roads en route to Rapunzel and Eugene’s cottage.

Varian’s head rested against Hugo’s back, the smile on the blond’s face never disappearing as he felt the warmth of the man behind him and the gentle sigh of wonder as he watched the busy city turn into serene countryside. He’d never felt more loved than in that moment, the other man absolutely full of wonder as he looked out at the changing landscapes that he knew all too well. Quietly, Hugo pulled into the driveway of the cottage and took the key out of the ignition, swinging his leg off the bike and helping steady his fiance as he did the same. “Damn baby, you fell right into my arms. You alright?” He chuckled softly, earning a gentle shove as he simply burst out into laughter. Hand in hand, the pair opened the gate and made their way up to the door.

Cassandra opened the door, Irene standing beside her, and both with disappointed expressions on their faces. Cass had...definitely changed, her once bobbed hair now in an undercut with shaved sides. Not to say it didn’t suit her - it definitely did. She looked great. Irene looked different too, her once long hair cut into a bob. “You two are late. Y’know she’s gonna kill you right?” The raven haired woman stated before losing the facade and pulling the boys into a hug. “C’mere you gay nerds, I’ve missed you two so so much…” 

“We’ve missed you too, Cassie.” Varian replied, smiling up at the woman before letting Irene pull them into an embrace as well. Hugo had never really gotten used to that - all the cuddling and hugging...Donella never was one for that kind of thing. She always tended to keep her distance from Hugo and his emotions, other than the time that Ulla had shown up and everything had gone to shit…but he preferred not to think about that. Not when it was Varian’s favourite time of the year (though Hugo much preferred Halloween, like an excuse to scare the crap out of little kids all while dressing up in a cheap costume? It was like heaven!). 

A gasp from down the hall broke him from his thoughts, Rapunzel standing there with her arms folded and a frown on her face. Hugo wasn’t even sure whether he’d seen her frown before - it felt terrifying. “So you wanna explain why you were late?” She raised her eyebrow, the boys stuttering excuses before the woman practically jumped into their arms. They stumbled back into the wall as the woman broke their ribs in the biggest, tightest hug they’d ever been in, before pulling away and gasping to grab their hands and stared and their fingers. “Oh my god! When did this happen? Who asked first? You have to tell me everything!” She giggled as she pulled them along and sat them down, Lance and the girls waving to them as Eugene sat on the floor.    
  


“Oh um, well…last night, I was waiting for Hugo to come home from work to propose, and he decided to propose when I was planning to. Hugo asked first and...I said yes if he would say yes too so...yeah!” Varian laughed, explaining last night as if it wasn’t like some weird cliche moment from a movie or a book. Hugo wrapped his arm around the other’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to his jawline with a soft smile and listening as Rapunzel rambled on about something or the other. He didn’t really listen though, he simply kept holding his boyfriend close to him and playing with his hair happily. 

“Rapunzel, did you tell them the news?” Eugene asked from his place on the floor, a wide grin on his face as he rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around his wife’s waist, pressing a kiss to the junction between her neck and her collarbone. When he was younger, Hugo would’ve gagged at the gesture, but now...well, he knew he was just as sappy as the man in front of him. He was rather happy, really, that he and Eugene managed to eventually get along, especially after their little talk last Christmas. He’d never admit it but he kinda liked the guy.

“Oh, yeah! I’m pregnant!” she smiled widely, Varian gasping and immediately rising to his feet (much to Hugo’s dismay) and swarming her with questions. Hugo simply nodded in congratulations towards Eugene, the man giving him a smile and nodding back in return as he moved away from his wife and headed towards the kitchen. Yep, he definitely liked Eugene. 

The pair must’ve rambled for hours about names and genders, until Rapunzel finally put the conversation to a close. “Anyway, it’s time for food!” she laughed cheerfully as she rose to her feet and walked towards the kitchen, everyone following in her footsteps and taking their seats at the table. Hugo’s, thankfully, was next to Varian and Irene, the woman paying more attention to her fiancee and the other people at the dinner table than Hugo. He’d always found Christmas awkward, having never been able to celebrate it when he was living with Donella. They’d always found it difficult to get money, so when they had it, they wouldn’t spend it on something like Christmas, so as soon as he came here with Varian, who adored Christmas and spent it with his family...it was a very sharp 180 to what he was used to. He didn’t know how to react, so he simply held his fiance’s hand under the table as he ate and listened to the conversations taking place.

After dinner had finished, Varian and Hugo took their seat on the couch, their arms around each other as people slowly started to leave. They could stay for longer - there was no rush and they felt terrible about arriving late, so it wouldn’t hurt to stay a little while. Hugo’s fingers threaded through Varian’s hair as he pressed a kiss to the man’s temple and stared out the window. Snow was now falling quite heavy - it would probably make the roads dangerous. He’d loved snow but...he knew Varian couldn’t leave, the man’s breathing already quickening as Hugo shuffled to shield his vision.

“You two can stay here tonight, boys. The roads aren’t safe.” Rapunzel replied as she moved towards the window with a frown, watching the little, white flakes hit the dirt roads and stick to it. “You can have the spare room, but please, don’t try and drive, okay?” She smiled sadly at Hugo, the blond nodding in agreement. There was no way in hell he was driving anywhere in a snowstorm when his boyfriend was here, not after what he’d told him on the night they’d confessed their feelings to each other. And, as he locked eyes with Rapunzel, he could see all the guilt in her eyes from the past few years. He felt bad for her, really. Her and Varian were quite similar in that sense - both of them had never really forgiven themselves for how they’d acted back then. 

“We’ll head upstairs.” Hugo stated, rising to his feet and gently pulling his boyfriend along with him towards the staircase. They ascended the creaking stairs before Varian took the lead. Hugo had never really been upstairs in the cottage before, hell, he didn’t even know it had an upstairs until he found the staircase. His fiance pushed open an oak door, showing a small guest room, decorated in typical Rapunzel style decor, with paintings on the wall of different flowers, birds and stars, and bookshelves full of books pressed against the wall. In the middle of the room was a double bed, Varian immediately pulling Hugo towards it after he shut the door and virtually pulled the man down to lie beside him. “How’re you holding up, goggles?” 

“Not very well. I just wanna cuddle and sleep.” Varian muttered as he buried his head into his chest, Hugo being able to feel the tears soaking through. A gentle sigh left his mouth as he played with his fiance’s hair and pressed kisses against this forehead, singing a little melody to him in an attempt to soothe the man. Slowly, he felt the tears stop pooling on his chest as Varian muttered against his shirt. “I love you, Hugh. I don’t tell you enough...I love you so so much..” he choked out, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry I keep acting this way-”

“Don’t apologise, sweetheart. It’s okay.” He whispered. “It's okay to cry and be upset - I get it. It’ll all be alright. I’m here and nothing can hurt you.” Hugo reassured the man in his arms and, eventually, the body beside him lost its tension as he fell asleep, gentle snores soon following and Hugo moved back to see the man’s mouth wide open, a sad little chuckle leaving his lips as he looked down at the sight. Quietly, he brought him closer, resting his chin on top of the man’s head as he stared at the wall. 

He really wished he could take all of his boyfriend’s pain away and kiss away all of his tears, though he knew he couldn’t. It hurt him to see him hurting - to hear his boyfriend in so much pain...he let out yet another sigh as he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his waist even tighter than before. “I love you so much, Varian.” He whispered into the air, closing his eyes and letting himself fall asleep.


End file.
